Elon Musk wagers that he can install a 100 MW battery farm in Australia in 100 days

In a to-and-fro on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk essentially told Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes that he’d set up a 100 MW battery farm to solve South Australia’s power woes in 100 days or he’d give do it for free. That’s some wager considering that this is a $250+ mn project we’re talking about. South Australia has apparently been suffering a number of power outages since the coal-fired power plants in that part of the country started shutting down. The whole thing was kicked off when Lyndon Rive, Tesla’s VP for energy products claimed that Tesla could commit to installing 100-300 MWh of battery farms within 100 days in Australia. Brookes saw the story and tweeted to Musk, asking if he was serious about it. Musk’s response? Well, you can see that below:  

Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2017

Rive’s and Musk’s remarks are not mere boasts, however. Tesla has set up an 80 MW battery farm in California in 90 days. 100 MW in 100 days is within the realms of possibility. The conversation didn’t end there of course. Brookes asked Musk for a quote, “mate-rates” as he put it (Hey, he’s Australian. What did you expect?). Musk quoted a price of $250/kWh.  

$250/kWh at the pack level for 100MWh+ systems. Tesla is moving to fixed and open pricing and terms for all products.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2017

Australia’s Prime Minister has apparently been blaming the unreliable renewable energy supply and calling for a return to fossil fuels. Tesla’s battery banks might help prevent this from happening.