Elon Musk’s Tesla launches bid to supply electricity to British households

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer and energy company Tesla is preparing to supply electricity to British households and businesses.

The Texas-based company formally submitted its request for an electricity license to the British energy regulator Ofgem at the end of last month, according to a notice on the watchdog’s website.

If approved, the move could pave the way for Tesla to compete with the big firms that dominate the U.K. energy market from as soon as next year.

The application, first reported by the Sunday Telegraph, came from Tesla Energy Ventures and was signed by Andrew Payne, who runs the firm’s European energy operations.

Tesla, which is best known as one of the world’s leading EV manufacturers, also develops solar energy generation systems and battery energy storage products.

Musk’s company already has an electricity supplier in Texas, called Tesla Electric. The service, which was launched in 2022, allows customers to optimize energy consumption and pays them for selling excess energy back to the grid.

Tesla’s push for a license to supply electricity to British households comes as the company endures a protracted European sales slump.

Data published last week by the U.K.’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed Tesla’s new car sales dropped by nearly 60% to 987 units last month, down from 2,462 a year ago.

In Germany, meanwhile, Tesla car sales fell to 1,110 units in July, down 55.1% from the same month in 2024.

The latest sales figures underscored some of the challenges facing the company, which continues to face stiff competition, particularly from Chinese EV manufacturers, and reputational damage from Musk’s incendiary rhetoric and relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.