New Tesla battery to power homes

Tesla Motors' new stationary-storage unit making battery packs will help founder Elon Musk expand beyond electric vehicles. Photo / AP

Tesla is working on a battery that can power your home and even help large-scale utilities store energy more efficiently, according to company chief executive Elon Musk.

On an investor call this week, Musk said the designs for a home or business battery are already complete and will likely be unveiled to the public "in the next month or two." Production could be as little as six months away, he added.

"It's really great. I'm really excited about it," said Musk.

Tesla says its battery and charging technology could ultimately wind up saving you money on your electric bill. Although many of today's homes draw energy directly from the electricity grid, the spread of cheap solar panels means it's never been easier to generate some of your own energy.

Storing renewables efficiently has been a big bottleneck for consumers and for utilities alike, but if Tesla's stationary battery takes off, it could change the way electricity is priced and traded on a market scale. (For years, it's been many people's dream to sell excess energy back to the grid.)

Tesla is already laying the groundwork to ensure its stationary batteries get as widely distributed as possible.

"A lot of utilities are working in this space, and we're talking to almost all of them," said Tesla's chief technical officer, JB Straubel. "It's early stage stuff and a lot of these projects are very far out since the procurement cycle for utilities is so long. But this is a business that certainly is gaining an increasing amount of our attention."