As of Wednesday, customers worldwide could order a solar roof on Tesla's web site. Installations will begin next month in the U.S., starting with California. Installations outside the U.S. will begin next year, the company said.
The glass tiles were unveiled by Tesla last fall just before the company merged with solar panel maker SolarCity Corp. They're designed to look like a traditional roof, with options that replicate slate or terracotta tiles. The solar tiles contain photovoltaic cells that are invisible from the street.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said one of the drawbacks to home solar installations has been the solar panels themselves: They're often awkward, shiny and ugly. Buyers will want Tesla's roof, he said, because it looks as good or better than a normal roof.
"When you have this installed on your house, you'll have the best roof in the neighborhood. The aesthetics are that good," Musk said in a conference call with media.
The roof is guaranteed for the life of the home, which is longer than the 20-year lifespan for a typical, non-solar roof, Musk said. It has gone through the same hail, fire and wind testing that normal roofs endure.
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7 comments:
Great if it works without subsidies.
Nothing works without subsidies, not even me.
$2,185 a square compared to 30 year shingles at $350 a square. If you have a 1200 sq ft house on a 4/12 pitch, that's 14 square x $2,185. That's only $30,600 plus tax is $32,425! Add the interest amortized, and you're paying $90,000 for a roof plus "free" electricity, but only in the daytime. On sunny days.
Let's see, 90k divided by $125 a month is 60 years of paying basically for half the electric used.
I'm 63, so they'll pay for themselves on my 123rd birthday! Yippee!
9:29 Energy is stored for use at night. Interest is tax deductible unless Trump eliminates it. You wont be around anyway so why are you worried what I and others with 50 or 60 good years left do?
Calculated for my house. $39,410 to install (which I have to borrow myself), to receive $38,000 in EXPECTED revenue over 30 YEARS.
Now supposedly, I can receive up to $23,000 in tax credits, and they do come with a "lifetime" warranty and free maintenance.
(So I guess I save a little bit over a regular roof if I had to pay to replace again in 15-20 years)
Oh, and you have to pay $1000 NOW on a credit card, to be put on a list, with no guarantee when they will even begin to install. (quite a while as they starting in California and working East)
So basically the whole thing seems like a way for Telsa to borrow $millions for free and take 30 years to pay it back.
1:16 PM and I will add. With the idiots around here, I highly doubt they would be installed correctly and good luck getting a remedy.
I have actual experience with roofers in this area not doing a proper job and basically making your home a mold factory.
How many times has Spicer renamed his company due to financial and "other" issues? Is he an LLC now? Wonder why......
Lifetime warranty doesn't mean a thing when the company goes out of business.
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