Elon Musk’s Tesla might soon join the British energy market, challenging companies like British Gas, Octopus, and E.ON. The US electric vehicle leader has applied to Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, for a license to supply electricity, as noted in a notice on the Ofgem website.
If approved, Tesla could supply electricity to homes and businesses in England, Scotland, and Wales within the next year. The application, submitted last month, was authorized by Andrew Payne, Tesla’s European energy head. The application process could take up to nine months for the regulator to complete.
The anticipated venture, likely named Tesla Electric, signifies a substantial expansion of Tesla’s goals in the UK. In the US, Tesla operates a power supply business in Texas that provides low-cost charging for its electric vehicle owners and compensates them for sending surplus electricity back to the grid.
As reported by the Sunday Telegraph, Tesla Electric in the UK is set to work closely with Musk’s electric cars and batteries, with a promise to reduce household bills. Tesla has already gained significant brand presence in the UK, having sold over 250,000 EVs and thousands of home storage batteries.
However, Tesla’s electric car sales have been decreasing across Europe, with UK Tesla sales dropping by more than half in July this year.