Musk Purchases Chinese Solar Panels! A Chart Breaking Down Related Concept Stocks

On Friday, the photovoltaic equipment sector surged against the trend, with China Energy Engineering, Shouhang New Energy hitting the 20% daily limit, Jinneng Technology, Haiyou New Materials and others rising over 10%, and multiple stocks like Guosheng Technology and Chint Power hitting the daily limit.

According to JiJian News, Tesla’s team plans to purchase large-scale Chinese photovoltaic equipment involving several listed companies. A photovoltaic company confirmed this news to Beike Finance and revealed that the contract scale is in gigawatts.

Additionally, Caixin reports that sources say Musk’s SpaceX team previously ordered equipment from a leading domestic heterojunction device manufacturer, with delivery expected in the first week of May. Exporting semiconductor-like products requires approval from relevant authorities, which is still in progress. It is understood that Musk’s photovoltaic orders are mainly divided into SpaceX (S chain) and Tesla (T chain), with application scenarios in space and on the ground respectively. Another source mentioned that the T chain cooperation orders are still under negotiation, involving several TOPCon device manufacturers.

In February this year, SpaceX and Tesla teams previously “sounded out” Chinese photovoltaic companies. Tesla visited multiple industry chain companies; SpaceX mainly visited photovoltaic equipment manufacturers and has order cooperation with a leading domestic heterojunction device manufacturer, but details are not public due to commercial confidentiality.

Huatai Securities research reports show that the cost structures of space photovoltaic and ground photovoltaic modules are completely different. In ground PV modules, solar cells account for 79% of the cost, encapsulation film 9%, front glass 6%, and backsheet 6%. In space PV modules, backsheet accounts for 53%, encapsulation film 27%, front glass 18%, and solar cells 2%.

Huatai Securities explains that the significant difference in cost composition is mainly because the packaging materials for space PV account for a much higher proportion to withstand extreme space environments. Therefore, packaging materials are the invisible champions benefiting space PV, with both increased value and importance.

Public information shows that front glass, encapsulation film, and backsheet together form the PV module packaging system, determining the module’s lifespan and power generation efficiency.

CITIC Securities reports that the demand for space PV is expected to grow exponentially. Musk’s investment in PV manufacturing paves the way for orbital computing power and AI power supply. Leading Chinese PV equipment manufacturers have strong capabilities in efficient iteration and rapid response, and are expected to enter the supply chain for Tesla and SpaceX, securing high-value orders and opening new growth opportunities. Additionally, space PV equipment may have obvious inflation effects, with the potential for significant value leap. It is highly recommended to focus on leading manufacturers with technological, product, and market share advantages across the PV supply chain.

(Source: Eastmoney Research Center)