Elon Musk promises Australian power woes fix in 100 days

Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk is betting that his company can get a battery system in South Australia installed and working within 100 days – and if it can’t, he says, the company will do it free.

Musk made the wager Thursday night in a brief back-and-forth on Twitter with Australian software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.

Cannon-Brookes had tweeted a link to an Australian news report that cited Tesla executive Lyndon Rive as saying he would “commit” to installing the megawatt-hours of batteries needed to prevent the recent blackouts in South Australia. Heat waves across the region have caused energy demand to spike, which has put increased pressure on the infrastructure there.

According to the report, Rive said the higher production capacity of Tesla’s Gigafactory battery production plant in Nevada could help address South Australia’s energy crisis within 100 days of being asked.

Tesla and its partner Panasonic began mass producing lithium-ion battery cells at the Gigafactory two months ago.

“How serious are you about this bet?” Cannon-Brookes tweeted Thursday. “If I can make the $ happen (& politics), can you guarantee the 100 MW in 100 days?”

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

Cannon-Brookes asked Musk to give him seven days to “try (to) sort out politics and funding,” and he suggested Musk send him a price quote – “mates rates.”

Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk’s Tesla Motors bought solar power firm SolarCity last year, creating a one-stop shop for clean-energy customers interested in electric vehicles and solar panels. The combined company is named Tesla. SolarCity was headed by Rive and his brother Peter Rive, who are Musk’s cousins.