LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s Tesla can soon start supplying British homes with electricity after it was granted a licence on Thursday, bringing a new competitor into the market at a time of heightened worries over rising bills.
The country’s energy regulator Ofgem said Tesla Energy Ventures, a unit of Tesla, had now been approved as an electricity supplier after a process which began last July.
The new licence positions Tesla, the Texas-based company owned by billionaire Musk, for expansion in Britain, where it will look to use its solar energy and battery storage business to directly compete with existing household suppliers such as Octopus Energy, British Gas and EDF.
Tesla Motors Limited, another subsidiary, already has an electricity generation licence in Britain. Some owners of Tesla electric cars use a Powerwall home battery which uses solar energy to charge their vehicles, and excess supply can be sold back into the grid.
Energy prices have surged since the war in Iran, leaving British consumers worried over their bills.
Most British households are protected until July from the immediate impact of higher gas prices on heating and electricity costs, due to regulated tariffs, but the government will come under pressure to provide support if the conflict lasts beyond that period.
Sales of Tesla vehicles in Britain have been in decline in recent years – they fell 8.9% year-on-year in 2025 – amid competition from cheaper Chinese brands and a consumer backlash against Musk’s political outlook.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton)
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