Puerto Rico's governor may take up Elon Musk's offer to use Tesla batteries to rebuild the island's electrical system (TSLA)

October 06, 2017 at 10:04 AM EDT

Tesla

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello may take up Tesla CEO Elon Musk's offer to rebuild the island's electrical system using Tesla's massive batteries and solar panels.

Musk said Thursday that Tesla could use its Powerpack batteries and solar panels to restore electricity to Puerto Rico. Tesla has already built similar systems on smaller islands like Ta'u in American Samoa, which can now run entirely on solar power.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/915939199718531072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too. Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC, any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR.

Musk said there's "no scalability limit" and Tesla could rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical system if the island's residents and government decided they want to pursue that option.

The idea could come to fruition.

"Let's talk," Rossello responded to Musk on Twitter early Friday, noting that such a system could be a "flagship project" for Tesla.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/916099290686205953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
@elonMusk Let's talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project. https://t.co/McnHKwisqcTweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/916234148104118272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I would be happy to talk. Hopefully, Tesla can be helpful.

Tesla said it has already sent hundreds of its residential batteries, the Powerwall, to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The Category 4 storm knocked out power for the entire island's 3.5 million residents, and they may not get power again for another six months.

NOW WATCH: Puerto Rico is completely without power after getting slammed by Hurricane Maria — here's where the storm is heading next