I am currently contracted with TESLA for a solar roof on my new home in Tampa, FL. We are currently in permitting and anticipate starting construction in November. We should be ready for "dry in" in January/February. TESLA has indicated that they are too busy to do the dry in and I will have to have my contractor do it. Then they will come out towards the very end of the project and tear off the temporary underlayment and start their install from scratch. Does this should correct? I told them that I have no tear down of a prior roof even though my price is $20K more than the original online quote so they should be able to do the underpayment in January/February and come back later for the glass. They said they are too busy. If I don't want to do it then I should cancel.
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New construction solar roof
- Thread starter ahsinfla
- Start date
Do you know when the home would be ready for installation of the solar roof itself? There has been some recent discussion of the underlayment and that the Firestone product they have used is rated for four months (though it looks like recently they may have started trying out different products - one of which is rated for six months) of exposure. However, Tesla may have its own standards for how long they want it exposed.
It seems like it would make sense for Tesla to send a subcontractor out to do the underlayment if possible, but, unfortunately, Tesla tends to be very rigid in its policies sometimes. I would have hoped that they would have more flexibility with new construction since that works very differently than a roof replacement. I do not know if trying to request a manager or somebody who specializes in new home jobs at Tesla (if that person exists) might help. My guess is this is another area where Tesla needs to improve, but right now - particularly with the end-of-year rush to get the tax credit - they may be so overwhelmed they really are just in "take it or leave it" mode with customers.
As far as the cost goes, how is that broken out? I understand the price was increased, but are there cost breakouts under "Pre-Construction" that cover removal of the underlayment?
It seems like it would make sense for Tesla to send a subcontractor out to do the underlayment if possible, but, unfortunately, Tesla tends to be very rigid in its policies sometimes. I would have hoped that they would have more flexibility with new construction since that works very differently than a roof replacement. I do not know if trying to request a manager or somebody who specializes in new home jobs at Tesla (if that person exists) might help. My guess is this is another area where Tesla needs to improve, but right now - particularly with the end-of-year rush to get the tax credit - they may be so overwhelmed they really are just in "take it or leave it" mode with customers.
As far as the cost goes, how is that broken out? I understand the price was increased, but are there cost breakouts under "Pre-Construction" that cover removal of the underlayment?
THe home should be ready for the solar roof in June, so the underlayment could be on the roof for 4-5 months. There are no “Pre-Construction” costs. The price went up because their online estimator only came up with 4500 square feet for my estimated total roof size. In reality it is 7000 square feet. I told them that was a HUGE difference and they said they are aware that their estimator is inaccurate.
Something is very wrong with Tesla Energy in Florida. The problem is building codes are very strict in Florida especially for roof and they have no clue. It seems like the majority of problems are in Florida.
I also think the solar industry in general has a lot problems with fraud. I think we are probably seeing an issue more with local regions and employees and they are used to the way solar was sold in the past. I don't see how they can operate with quotes so wrong.
Have you made a complaint yet to the state? I am doing that on my roof and the fact they can try and say I owe them 100k more. I think based on reports I am seeing it looks like this widespread and we all should be making a complaint to the state to review them. It's against the law to sign contracts that they know are wrong and not correct. They are are liable to honor the original quote since this is a form of fraud if you signed a contact and they pulled permits on the original estimate.
My guess they are going to lose their license very soon to operate if this sort of thing continue.
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I am having a similar experience here in the Tampa Bay Area with the same concerns. New construction waterfront home and the framing is almost done. The original quote on the Tesla site was way off, and when they uploaded the official quote it was about 20K higher as you said. I literally have not spoken with one Tesla rep, everything by text. Same story - when I expressed concerns they could hold up the project they sent me specs for the underlayment my GC should use. My biggest concern is that since this is a solar roof and not panels is that Tesla grinds my project to a halt. You can't really get any kind of a commitment out of then. Via text, my rep says "When the house is ready for the roof we'll do a site visit and start the roof permit." But they also stress the underlayment to use. When I asked for the name of the sub they'd use, or if it was their installers, no response. I'm starting to get cold feet and may just go with panels from a different company, as much as I want the Tesla Roof + PWs.
Just to add to my post above another thing I may do is just tell my GC to stick to the building contract (no solar) and do the budgeted shingle roof without changes. And then, once the house is built and we have a CO and are moved-in, purchase Tesla solar panels + PWs. That way, no risk of holding up the project and no big rush. Ideally, I'd think you'd want solar done during construction, but building a custom home is stressful enough without having to wonder if Tesla is going to hold up your project by God knows how long.
It is really crazy that Tesla doesn't have a group dedicated to working with home builders. This is the perfect time to install a solar roof since you don't have to tear off an old roof and running all the conduit should be so much easier (and result in a better look.) You might even think that if they got in with home builders, those could be a source of referrals for future business.
Adding panels soon after is certainly a reasonable approach (and you can do things like adding the conduit during the build) but it is unfortunate that you are potentially forced into this option.
While I have gotten cold feet several times already, my GC and I have decided to move forward with the Solar Roof. Even though the price has increased 20% and Tesla makes it frustratingly aggravating, they have the best product available and they know it. I did contact Tesla and had my advisor changed as I was not comfortable with my first “non responsive” advisor. Time will tell if the new one is any better. As far as the install goes, my GC is going to have an inexpensive, temporary under layer installed for about 4 months, until Tesla is ready to do their install including new under layer. That way we will have a window of opportunity of 1-2 months for them to schedule their install. My GC and I both recognize that we will each need the patience of a saint to make it through this process. However, right now I believe that it is worth it to get what appears to be the best available product on the market right now.
Best of luck too you. I hope it all works out. A 1-2 month window seems pretty tight when working with Tesla. I’m in the planning stages for a custom home in Clermont FL. Would love to have a solar roof. Thanks to you and ScottFLA for pioneering this.
Update....I asked to change my advisor since my first one was very hard to communicate with and was unwilling to do my dry in after sheathing was complete. He said I would have to do it because Tesla was too busy. New advisor is great. She reaches out to me ON HER OWN. She escalated my request and Tesla has now agreed to do my dry in. They have their rules and it is not easy but basically once the sheathing is done, they want pictures (as proof), then they will schedule a site walk. We will discuss layout of equipment and meet with our electrician as this time. If all is OK, they will schedule dry in for shortly thereafter. My GC will have up to 3 months to finish the exterior and then have the solar roof installed by Tesla. I am acting as the intermediary between my GC and Tesla, which is fine because I can control everything. I worked with my new advisor to get the electrical panel layouts completed since the Gateway 2 only supports 200 amps and the home service will exceed that. After that I worked with her to get the permit applied for since Tesla uses their own County permit. I have learned that I must keep on top of everything to make sure it all progresses properly. BTW, my final layout is solar glass on all southern exposures of my roof for a 17.4KW system with 4 PW’s. By design, I should be able to be off grid (in case of hurricane) indefinitely while only losing a few items like double oven and some minor circuits. Both AC’s (variable with low LRA’s) will be backed up as well as all other main needs, including pool. We are using community propane for heating and cooking. This has definitely been a learning experience but also enjoyable. My GC is excited to have the first solar roof in our small town outside of Tampa.
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