Sonnen Electricity Storage Operation In L.A.
Los Angeles billionaire Elon Musk is driving development of more than just electric cars: The head of Tesla Motors Inc. often grabs headlines with his company’s Powerwall battery, designed to let homeowners stash electricity from their solar panels for later use. But a North Hollywood operation has been quietly beating Musk and Tesla when it comes to selling residential electricity storage batteries. Sonnen Inc., which emerged on the world stage half a dozen years ago in Bavaria, Germany, has sold 13,000 residential storage batteries worldwide at a current pace of about 900 a month. U.S. sales, managed out of the Sonnen’s American headquarters in North Hollywood, account for about a quarter of the monthly tally. Tesla is still ramping up Powerwall production but delivered 2,500 Powerwall systems worldwide in the first three months of the year, according to a May shareholder letter. Sonnen sold 2,600 residential batteries during the same period, a company record. “Elon Musk has t