Former Tesla Exec Is Building the Home Heat Pump Musk Promised

Former Tesla Exec is Building the Home Heat Pump Musk Promised - Not a Tesla App

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Former Tesla Exec is Building the Home Heat Pump Musk Promised

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Nehal Malik

June 17, 2026

For years, Elon Musk teased the idea of a Tesla-made home heat pump and smart HVAC systems that would completely change how we heat and cool our houses. While those plans seemingly stalled out, a very familiar face is stepping up to fulfill that exact promise. The Stealth Move Into Home Energy Drew Baglino spent nearly two decades at Tesla, eventually rising to senior vice president overseeing core energy and powertrain engineering before his departure in April 2024. Now, according to a recent report by TechCrunch, Baglino has quietly founded a new startup called Sadi Thermal Machines to build residential heat pumps. The new venture, currently in stealth mode, was incorporated in June 2025 and operates out of Scotts Valley, California, sharing a headquarters with Baglino’s other post-Tesla startup, Heron Power. The name itself is a nod to Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, the French physicist who laid the groundwork for modern thermodynamics (and, by extension, heat pumps). Records show that Baglino has already recruited several Tesla alumni to join the team. Bringing Automotive Tech to the Living Room This isn't a random career pivot for Baglino. He is actually a named inventor on the original patent for Tesla’s famous “Octovalve” system, which became the heart of the Model Y’s revolutionary heat pump.

When it debuted, the Model Y heat pump was a suitcase-sized package capable of shifting heat between the battery, cabin, and drive units on the fly, unlike anything else on the market at the time. This was thanks to its Octovalve, which featured eight inlets and outlets and could variably change between heating and cooling without needing to be plumbed in different directions, and the Super Manifold.

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During an earnings call in early 2022, Musk and Baglino openly mused about taking that vehicle tech and building it into an all-in-one residential HVAC and water heating unit. Baglino noted on the call that designing a home system would actually be easier because it doesn’t face the same mass, volume, and energy constraints as a car. “From a mission perspective, it’s very aligned,” Baglino said. “We have learned a lot about how to make capable and reliable heat pumps that work in all environmental conditions and are excited about the idea of working on that problem one day. Let me put it that way, it’s definitely aligned with our mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.” Musk agreed it was a product they would eventually build, but refused to commit to a specific timeframe. If Tesla failed to deliver, Baglino told the audience that people should do it anyway. Now, he is taking his own advice.

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A Perfect Fit for the Tesla App? The residential heat pump market has exploded into a competitive arena, while Tesla’s focus has noticeably drifted elsewhere. Last year, the mission statement officially evolved to focus on building a world of “amazing abundance,” signaling Tesla's shift to AI and robotics. With capital and production efforts being directed heavily toward things like the upcoming Optimus Gen 3 humanoid robot, an official home climate appliance is sinking lower on the to-do list with every passing day. Furthermore, earlier vehicle implementations have lost their technological edge and experienced growing pains. Tesla previously dealt with various cold-weather heating failures linked to its early vehicle heat pumps, prompting regulatory discussions. However, Baglino’s independent project could still find a comfortable home inside the Tesla ecosystem. A recent Tesla mobile app decompile revealed that support for home heat pump control within the interface is in the works. Even if Tesla is not the one manufacturing the hardware, Baglino's deep roots mean his new residential heat pumps could integrate beautifully with existing Powerwall and solar setups, giving owners the exact ecosystem synergy they were promised years ago.

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Former Tesla Exec Is Building the Home Heat Pump Musk Promised

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