ELON MUSK WANTS TO SELL YOU A BATTERY. That, I realize, is not an awe-inspiring sentence. But it may actually have awe-inspiring implications. Musk is an innovator, and Tesla Energy, his new company, has developed an innovative home energy system that may allow homes and small businesses to easily and relatively cheaply move off the grid.

The battery — called Powerwall — can store energy from solar panels or wind, and is just about affordable for middle class families: a nine year lease for the 10 kilowatt/hour system is $5000, while a full purchase for the system is $7,140. It’s a bit on the pricey end, for sure, but this is the first time such a system could be at least in the affordable range for normal families.

This could be the start of a major trend of people moving off the grid and switching en masse to sources of renewable energy. So the question is: did Elon Musk just save the world?