Elon Musk, the billionaire technology entrepreneur, has announced a "major" new Tesla product line that is "not a car", in a cryptic tweet which has left millions guessing.
The CEO's news sparked the hashtag #TeslaNewProductGuesses, with guesses ranging from a time machine to a real-life Iron Man suit.
Shares in the electric car jumped to nearly 4 per cent in just 10 minutes – adding a staggering $US900 million to the company's market cap in just 115 characters. The tweet went out to his 1.9 million followers and had thousands of retweets within an hour.
Major new Tesla product line -- not a car -- will be unveiled at our Hawthorne Design Studio on Thurs 8pm, April 30 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
March 30, 2015
Musk, who has created a buzz around Tesla with a wildly popular auto line with only limited production, was intentionally vague.
Fans will not have to wait too long, as he said the product will be revealed at the company's California Design Studio on April 30.
Some reports said Musk was likely referring to a home battery based on a design used in the Tesla vehicles, about which he spoke during a February earnings call.
"We're going to unveil some of the Tesla home battery or consumer battery that will be for use in people's houses or businesses, fairly soon," he said at the time.
"We have the design done, and it should start going into production probably in about six months or so."
Combining solar panels with big backup could allow homeowners to avoid buying electricity from utilities. Tesla is building the world's biggest battery factory in Nevada — a $US5 billion project that Musk says will reduce the price of battery storage by 30 per cent. If the prices come down enough, it could both enhance and disrupt the US power grid.
The South African-born Musk made his first millions in the 1990s with a payments company that eventually merged with PayPal. He later created SpaceX, a private group working on rockets and space exploration, and Tesla, with the aim of popularizing electric vehicles.
While Tesla produces relatively few vehicles, it has become a star in the sector due to keen demand and a reputation for high quality.
Telegraph, London
