Which is precisely what Elon suggested. If its cheaper, lasts longer, looks better, AND produces free electricity to boot? Why wouldn't you buy it? If its only cheaper than a tile roof, I can still make an economic argument that its too expensive and choose to buy an asphalt roof instead. The way Elon talks about it being a total no-brainer to do says asphalt shingle to me, not tile. If not at launch, then certainly once the factory reaches full tilt.
Correct. TSLA didn't. They're only just starting to change it now that Model 3 looks like an impending reality. The other automakers didn't take the threat of TSLA seriously until Model 3 was on the table. The solar roofing tiles aren't like cars - there isn't a high-end and a low-end kind of roof, beyond asphalt shingles that 99% of us have, and tiles that last 2-4x as long and cost 2-4x as much. Its like the difference between a Honda Fit and a Honda Accord price-wise, but if 99% of cars were Fits. Sure, there's a difference, but there is nothing at the tippy top like Acura NSX at the top of the roofing world to go after first as Tesla did in the cars.
Tesla's approach with the cars was simple: They knew it would be expensive to build a car, so they built a car that they could sell for a lot of money, learning from the mistakes of countless car companies that tried to start by going after the 20k commuter car first. That approach doesn't work for roofs, and it doesn't need to.
OK, and? SoCal has one of the highest costs of living anywhere on the planet. I say again, if you want to change the world, you have to dream bigger than SoCal. At launch, and while they're still production constrained on the tiles, they might be more expensive, but within 5 years, it will be cheaper than asphalt shingle. Mark my words.
