Image Credit: Tesla
Tesla has reportedly discontinued its Solar Roof plans, including its much vaunted solar-tile product, with sources “close to the program” reportedly suggesting that the product was not financially viable.
Two sources confirmed to US outlet Electrek last week that Tesla has informed third-party installers that it will no longer supply its Solar Roof solar tiles, and focus only on conventional solar panels.
According to Electrek, one of the sources explained that Tesla had internally concluded the product was not financially viable.
Adding weight to Electrek’s report is the fact that Tesla’s dedicated Solar Roof page at tesla.com/solarroof now automatically redirects to the company’s solar panels page.
Tesla first unveiled its Solar Roof back in October of 2016, which presaged the company’s $US2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity – one of America’s early solar giants, before succumbing to increasing debts. Elon Musk was SolarCity’s largest shareholder and chairman, and the company was run by his cousins.
The launch of Tesla’s Solar Roof product was seen by many as a pitch to Tesla’s investors, who were being asked to bail out SolarCity, with its deep Musk ties.
And the premise was an attractive one – textured glass tiles with integrated solar cells to make a roof look just like any other tiled roof, providing enough solar to fill Tesla Powerwall batteries, charge Tesla EVs and the future fully electric home.
But the promise never achieved reality, with prices far exceeding initial promises, leading to dramatically increased Solar Roof prices that even led to a class-action lawsuit.
By early 2023, a report estimated that only 3,000 Solar Roofs had been installed across America, since its launch in 2016, yielding a total capacity of 30 megawatts (MW) – excessively below Musk’s stated goal of 1,000 installations per week.
An Australian company, Volt, in late 2024 raised funds to launch its own solar tile business and take on the likes of Tesla.
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