Texas homeowners can lease Tesla Powerwall batteries straight from company

Tesla now lets homeowners in parts of Texas lease home batteries directly, without needing solar panels first. Through its electricity provider, Tesla Electric, homeowners can lease two Powerwall units for $35 a month, with $0 installation cost, paired with a fixed electricity rate. The offer is available in areas of Texas with retail electric choice, meaning residents can pick their own power provider.

The batteries aren't just for backup. Tesla Electric actively manages them as part of a virtual power plant, or VPP, a setup where many home batteries work together to store cheap electricity and sell it back to the grid when prices are high. The company says it will always keep at least 20% of each battery's storage in reserve, so homeowners still have backup power on hand even while the batteries are being used this way. The plan also includes Storm Watch, a feature that automatically charges the battery to full before severe weather arrives, so there's backup power ready if the outage hits.

This is the first time Tesla has combined battery leasing with a retail power plan, though it isn't the only such offer around. Palmetto, another company, launched a similar no-solar-required battery leasing plan earlier this year. For now, Tesla's version is limited to certain parts of Texas, so homeowners elsewhere would need to look at what's available through their own local utility or provider.