Despite declines for the quarter, Tesla is bullish on its overall energy business

The energy business is an unheralded part of Tesla -- overshadowed by its headline-grabbing (and much larger) auto exploits -- that chief executive Elon Musk thinks will generate an increasing share of revenue for the company over time. Revenues from its solar power and energy storage business fell by 13 percent from the fourth quarter 2018 and 21 percent from a year ago period, down to $324.7 million from $371.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $410 million in the year ago quarter. Solar energy deployments fell from 73 megawatts to 47 megawatts from the fourth to the first quarter, the company said.