Image: Tesla

United States-based energy storage and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has announced a recall of its Powerwall 2 home battery systems in Australia following reports of units catching fire.

The company said it had identified a safety issue with a batch of lithium-ion cells supplied by a third-party manufacturer. According to Tesla, some affected Powerwall 2 units had “smoked or emitted flames, resulting in minor property damage,” due to the risk that the batteries “may fail and overheat.”

Tesla confirmed that nearly all impacted units in Australia have already been remotely discharged, making them safe. “Once your Powerwall 2 unit has been discharged and isolated from service, the unit does not pose any operational risk,” the company stated, adding that service teams are in the process of discharging the remaining affected units.

The recall does not impact Tesla’s latest Powerwall 3 systems, and is restricted to Powerwall 2 units sold between November 2020 and June 2022, according to a notice issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The units were distributed nationwide by Tesla Motors Australia Pty Ltd.

Tesla said it is directly notifying affected customers through the Tesla app. Each impacted Powerwall 2 system will be removed and replaced under warranty at no cost, and the company is also considering compensation for lost energy savings caused by system downtime, assessed on a case-by-case basis.