Tesla Recalls Powerwall 2 Units After Fires and Property Damage

Tesla has recalled over 10,000 Powerwall 2 units in the U.S. because the lithium-ion battery cells in some of them can stop functioning, causing them to overheat, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The federal safety agency has received 22 reports of overheating units and six reports of smoking units. There have also been five reports of fires that have caused “minor property damage.â€

“Consumers should ensure their Powerwall 2 system is online and check the Tesla App for a notification about whether their unit is included in the recall,†the CPSC said in a recall notice posted online. “Tesla has remotely discharged (or removed energy from the battery of) affected Powerwall 2 systems that are online to prevent overheating until the replacement is installed.â€

The units were installed by certified Tesla installers across the country from November 2020 to December 2022 and retailed for about $8,000, according to the CPSC.

On its website, Tesla says the recall only impacts a “subset†of the Powerwall 2 units currently installed in homes around the U.S. “due to a third-party battery cell defect.†The company also says the recall doesn’t affect Powerwall 3 customers at all.

As the Verge notes, the Powerwall 2 recall actually started in Australia in September, when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a very similar notice to the one issued in the U.S. on Thursday. Customers in the U.S. with Powerwall 2 units impacted by the recall will be notified in the Tesla app. The units will be removed and replaced at no cost, according to the company.

Tesla explains that solar generation with the Powerwall will still work, but backup power is temporary unavailable until a replacement unit is installed. The company says the first person customers should contact is their certified installer to get a replacement. But if the installer is unavailable customers can contact Tesla directly through email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-877-961-7652.

The Powerwall was first launched in 2015 as a way to increase the capacity for a house with solar panels, and for use during power outages. The Powerwall 2 went into production in 2017, and the Powerwall 3 was released in late 2023.

Tesla announced in September that it had sold 1 million Powerwall units worldwide and “in early 2025, Gigafactory Nevada produced a record 1,500 Powerwalls in a single day, scaling production to make clean energy accessible to more households worldwide.â€