Elon Musk and Tesla Entering British Energy Market Hints New Job Ad

Elon Musk attends an event during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris on June 16, 2023. Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

A job posting by Tesla suggests the company is planning on entering the UK energy market.

On its UK site, Elon Musk’s company Tesla said it is aiming to hire an experienced professional as Head of Operations, an executive who will have “operational responsibility for our retail electricity activities in the UK.”

Tesla says it is “accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy with electric cars, solar, and integrated renewable energy solutions for homes.”

As well as cars, Tesla produces Powerwall, a rechargeable home battery system, as well as solar roof and panels.

The Head of Operations role includes “responsibility for managing our market entry, and building out the team.”

This also involves leading “the ongoing route to market activities, resulting in obtaining an electricity supply license in the UK and accreditation to all associated relevant industry codes.”

This includes responsibility for “managing our market entry, and building out the team, systems, and processes needed to start operations.”

‘Wildly Expensive’

In a video on Twitter, political leader and GB News host, Nigel Farage said that he hoped Musk’s entry into the market will “shake the whole thing up.”

“We need some good news from time to time and here it is, Elon Musk, the owner of this platform and one of the greatest disruptors in the world has announced he’s going to enter the UK home energy market,” he said.

“Well, thank God for that because any of you out there with direct debits will find that actually, you’re being massively overcharged, they’re keeping your money and not telling you the whole thing is a racket, it’s wildly expensive. Let’s really hope Musk comes in and shakes the whole thing up,” added Mr. Farage.

Adam Bell, former head of energy strategy at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and now head of Policy at the sustainability and advocacy consultancy Stonehaven, wrote on Twitter that Tesla could need a product for non-Powerwall owners.

He claimed that Tesla could hit UK regulatory hurdles if it tried to enter the market.

“It’s likely that Tesla has made this commitment without really thinking through this plan,” wrote Mr. Bell.

‘World’s Richest Person’

Mr. Musk whose portfolio includes electric car company Tesla, private space company SpaceX, and the social media platform Twitter—regained the title of “World’s Richest Person” in June according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranking.

His net worth, which had stood above $340 billion in November 2021, slipped below the $200 billion mark in November 2022. By the end of the year, Musk’s fortune had fallen to $137 billion, making him the first person to ever lose more than $200 billion in estimated net worth, according to Bloomberg.

The billionaire sunk a large portion of both his attention and his net worth into acquiring Twitter. In October 2022, as he closed in on the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, Musk acknowledged that he felt he was overpaying but said he still saw untapped potential for the social media platform.

“I think it’s an asset that has just sort of languished for a long time but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and the other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now,” he said.

The Epoch Times contacted Tesla for comment.

Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.