Musk tried to cancel this program in its early stages.
He only found out about its existence after early prototypes were located in their car park where he saw them and instantly demanded the whole effort be shut down.
> For about five years, Straubel and his team had been developing batteries meant to store renewable electricity and release it onto the grid when the sun wasn’t out or the wind wasn’t blowing, and an executive at the meeting asked Musk about the project. Apparently Musk hadn’t heard of it: “What are you talking about?” he said to about 50 members of Tesla’s top leadership, according to Mateo Jaramillo, former head of Tesla’s energy division. The executive who raised the issue then pointed out a window, toward a set of prototype batteries installed in the factory’s parking lot. Musk looked out the window, then turned to address the room: “Let me be very clear: absolutely no one should be working on that right now.”
> Straubel pressed ahead with the grid battery project anyway, providing “cover” for his subordinates to keep working on it, according to Jaramillo. One former Tesla employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because he continues to work in the industry, says Musk barely knew anything about the Tesla energy division until the staff briefed him on it before the official reveal in 2015
He only found out about its existence after early prototypes were located in their car park where he saw them and instantly demanded the whole effort be shut down.
> For about five years, Straubel and his team had been developing batteries meant to store renewable electricity and release it onto the grid when the sun wasn’t out or the wind wasn’t blowing, and an executive at the meeting asked Musk about the project. Apparently Musk hadn’t heard of it: “What are you talking about?” he said to about 50 members of Tesla’s top leadership, according to Mateo Jaramillo, former head of Tesla’s energy division. The executive who raised the issue then pointed out a window, toward a set of prototype batteries installed in the factory’s parking lot. Musk looked out the window, then turned to address the room: “Let me be very clear: absolutely no one should be working on that right now.”
> Straubel pressed ahead with the grid battery project anyway, providing “cover” for his subordinates to keep working on it, according to Jaramillo. One former Tesla employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because he continues to work in the industry, says Musk barely knew anything about the Tesla energy division until the staff briefed him on it before the official reveal in 2015
https://time.com/6176778/jb-straubel-battery-problem/