Tesla bids to enter British energy market

The new venture is expected to be called Tesla Energy Ventures and could be up and running within 12 months.

Elon Musk’s Tesla could soon enter the British energy market, taking on the likes of British Gas, Octopus, and E.ON.

The US electric car giant has applied to Ofgem, the energy regulator, for a licence to supply electricity, according to a notice published on the Ofgem website.

If successful, it would mean that Tesla could provide electricity to households and businesses across England, Scotland and Wales within the next year.

The application is understood to have been lodged in July, signed off by Andrew Payne, who runs Tesla’s European energy operations.

The regulator can take up to nine months to process applications and the controversial move is already attracting critics with campaigners already submitting some 8 000 objections.

In the US, Tesla currently runs a power supply business in Texas that allows owners of its electric vehicles to charge their cars cheaply and pays them for channelling surplus electricity back to the grid.