A journey with Tesla
Australia to Germany...
I was intrigued by a reader’s comment on a previous post referencing imminent German market entry of Tesla Autobidder. We will always investigate reader comments and this investigation proves to be interesting beyond expectation. So thank you, dear Reader.
Tesla polarises, but whatever your view, their full-throttle approach to large-scale projects is undeniably inspired. Across a global map stretching from Australia to Germany, we see a company executing a dual-track strategy: securing the regulatory 'keys' to the grid while simultaneously deploying the massive merchant assets that those keys unlock. The result is a system where the hardware is a vehicle for a software stack that connects site-level controls to real-time trading optimisation.
Alongside this ‘travel note’, you may find the following video a useful or interesting perspective on Tesla’s overall perspective on battery energy storage.
We cover a lot of ground here, please let me know if you spot mistakes.
1. Australia: Hornsdale, scale, and retail
The Hornsdale Power Reserve occupies a particular place in Tesla’s trajectory. Commissioned in 2017, it was one of the earliest grid-scale batteries to operate continuously in a system-critical role.
Hornsdale demonstrated that battery storage could participate persistently across multiple market segments, including wholesale energy and frequency control services. More importantly, it did so over years rather than months, providing a durable operational reference point for how optimisation software behaves under real grid conditions.
Hornsdale did not confer market privileges, nor did it immediately change Tesla’s regulatory status. But it helped establish batteries as active, dispatchable system assets rather than passive infrastructure — a distinction that becomes more important as asset scale increases.
In 2024, Tesla Energy Ventures Australia Pty Ltd became an authorised electricity retailer under the National Electricity Market framework.
This followed the deployment of larger assets using similar operational logic, most notably the Victorian Big Battery (300 MW / 450 MWh).
Retail authorisation reduces reliance on intermediaries as assets grow larger and optimisation becomes more central to value capture.
2. UK: From market access to utility-scale assets
In June 2020, Tesla Motors Limited was granted an Electricity Generation Licence in Great Britain, allowing it to export power to the grid.
This provided the foundation for access, and the operational step followed swiftly…
