I spoke with a Tesla/SolarCity "concierge" this afternoon, as they finally returned my earlier calls. (Now they are calling themselves "Tesla"; "SolarCity" was never mentioned.) This time, the representative seemed very knowledgeable, and he was willing to answer any questions I had. While I ended up telling him that I'm going with a third party installer, I wanted to learn more about their process, etc.
The representative confirmed a key piece of information - that no more than 20% of the total pool of SGIP funds ($25m) may be awarded through any single installer. As there has been a great deal of interest in this program, he admitted that there is a very real chance that some of Tesla's Powerwall customers in California will not be able to receive any rebate funds at all. Also, Tesla isn't processing any additional applications for Tier 1, the maximum ~$0.50/Wh rebate, so if I were moving forward with Tesla, I'd either receive a Tier 2 rebate or none at all.
I also asked about Tesla's $7000 estimate to purchase and install a single Powerwall 2. I explained that my main panel has already been upgraded and that my overall setup is pretty standard. Based on that, the representative seemed quite confident that the final price would indeed be very close to $7000 (subject of course to the findings of their design team, who could end up recommending a second Powerwall).
Comparing Tesla and LA Solar Group as installers for a California customer entering the market right now who is willing to apply for SGIP and is eligible for the 30% ITC, the tradeoff is that with Tesla, it appears that you would either get a Powerwall for almost nothing (possibly under $1000) or end up paying about $4900 (ITC but no SGIP). With LA Solar Group, if one contacts them immediately, there's a chance of a Tier 1 rebate and, it appears, a net price of about $2400. With a Tier 3 rebate, the worst case on the LASG contract, the net price would be closer to $4500. Tier 2 would be in the middle, about $3500 I think. The 20% cap isn't an issue for LASG at this time.
Right now, it may be sort of a toss-up. As more people apply and the 20% cap on SGIP funds is exceeded for Tesla as an installer, going with LASG would probably be smarter, at least until Tiers 2 and 3 are exhausted at which point Tesla becomes cheaper again. Personally, since I already signed the LASG contract and I like their service, I'll stick with that. Plus, they installed our PV and are already familiar with our setup. If the SGIP application falls through for some reason, though, then I may decide to go with Tesla and pay $4900 net.
Finally, I asked whether I should keep my Powerwall 2 reservation even though I'm planning to use LASG and not Tesla as the installer. They are still trying to figure out how this will work, and recommended that I keep the reservation. I figure there's no harm in doing so, at least for the time being.
One more thing - Tesla says that if they were to be our installer, they'd have to come to our home for a site survey. The representative said that sending photos would not do it. (Funny that I have a Tesla Ranger coming here in a couple of days for a door handle on our Model S, but they are in a totally different arm of what's now a fairly large company.)
The representative confirmed a key piece of information - that no more than 20% of the total pool of SGIP funds ($25m) may be awarded through any single installer. As there has been a great deal of interest in this program, he admitted that there is a very real chance that some of Tesla's Powerwall customers in California will not be able to receive any rebate funds at all. Also, Tesla isn't processing any additional applications for Tier 1, the maximum ~$0.50/Wh rebate, so if I were moving forward with Tesla, I'd either receive a Tier 2 rebate or none at all.
I also asked about Tesla's $7000 estimate to purchase and install a single Powerwall 2. I explained that my main panel has already been upgraded and that my overall setup is pretty standard. Based on that, the representative seemed quite confident that the final price would indeed be very close to $7000 (subject of course to the findings of their design team, who could end up recommending a second Powerwall).
Comparing Tesla and LA Solar Group as installers for a California customer entering the market right now who is willing to apply for SGIP and is eligible for the 30% ITC, the tradeoff is that with Tesla, it appears that you would either get a Powerwall for almost nothing (possibly under $1000) or end up paying about $4900 (ITC but no SGIP). With LA Solar Group, if one contacts them immediately, there's a chance of a Tier 1 rebate and, it appears, a net price of about $2400. With a Tier 3 rebate, the worst case on the LASG contract, the net price would be closer to $4500. Tier 2 would be in the middle, about $3500 I think. The 20% cap isn't an issue for LASG at this time.
Right now, it may be sort of a toss-up. As more people apply and the 20% cap on SGIP funds is exceeded for Tesla as an installer, going with LASG would probably be smarter, at least until Tiers 2 and 3 are exhausted at which point Tesla becomes cheaper again. Personally, since I already signed the LASG contract and I like their service, I'll stick with that. Plus, they installed our PV and are already familiar with our setup. If the SGIP application falls through for some reason, though, then I may decide to go with Tesla and pay $4900 net.
Finally, I asked whether I should keep my Powerwall 2 reservation even though I'm planning to use LASG and not Tesla as the installer. They are still trying to figure out how this will work, and recommended that I keep the reservation. I figure there's no harm in doing so, at least for the time being.
One more thing - Tesla says that if they were to be our installer, they'd have to come to our home for a site survey. The representative said that sending photos would not do it. (Funny that I have a Tesla Ranger coming here in a couple of days for a door handle on our Model S, but they are in a totally different arm of what's now a fairly large company.)
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