It shouldn't be any different, but the answer is that legally your contractor also would be expected to complete the project as agreed to and would be in breach otherwise. Of course, if the contract specified that he could adjust the contract price for changes in material and/or labor costs, that would be fine. But otherwise, if the contractor estimated poorly and/or did not manage the contract properly (such as by verifying the prices at the time of signing and procuring materials immediately) then the contractor is responsible for completing the job at a loss.
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Solar Roof, big price increase
- Thread starter nicholb
- Start date
Will see how many spend their money to try and take Tesla to court, and how many "win". So, I have yet to see a post where someone has hired a lawyer with their money, or did I miss that post.
I have only seen one person that talked to their lawyer and were told that it was highly unlikely that they would prevail.
For one, it is not shocking that with an event less than two weeks old, nobody has completed (and few even started) any arbitration/legal proceedings. Second, whether or not anybody proceeds (vs. taking your advice to just move on) doesn't change what the law says. I am in agreement that as a realistic matter, the effort involved in pursuing this case very well may not be worth it - especially if group action is foreclosed - but that doesn't change that, as a pure legal matter, you cannot simply breach a contract because you no longer find the terms favorable, whether you are a company of one or a giant business.
There is a 60-day 'clock' on when you submit a dispute to the email address in the (signed) agreement, and when arbitration can start. I emailed the following Monday morning from the email with price increases to start my clock. I would encourage others to do so if they haven't so they can gauge the numbers that can potentially pursue arbitration.
I talked to a lawyer once about a boat I wanted to own in my HOA but would not allow. His opinion to me was even though we would probably win the case and I could keep the boat, he asked me if the boat was worth the money and stress to "win". I sold the boat.
In another event I hired a lawyer to fight my HOA because they were trying to tell me where my lake front property line was. Was not cheap, and was very stressful. But was worth it and I won, meaning, the HOA never took me to court because they knew they would lose.
You make a valid point. Things change on a construction job and sometimes price changes are reasonable. For example asbestos shows up and has to be abated.
But if absolutely nothing changes and you raise your prices by 50% after a contract has been signed then you're probably a shyster.
Bottom line, Tesla should have honored their existing contracts as matter of simple ethics.
Why would anyone trust them on anything at this point.
But if absolutely nothing changes and you raise your prices by 50% after a contract has been signed then you're probably a shyster.
Bottom line, Tesla should have honored their existing contracts as matter of simple ethics.
Why would anyone trust them on anything at this point.
I have not signed the new contract yet. I've been waiting out to see what would happen.
However, today I log into my Tesla account, I don't see the new contract (with the increased price) there anymore.
Original appointment and old signed contract (original price) are still intact. Crossing my fingers.
Anyone seeing the same?
However, today I log into my Tesla account, I don't see the new contract (with the increased price) there anymore.
Original appointment and old signed contract (original price) are still intact. Crossing my fingers.
Anyone seeing the same?
Hoping this is good news for you and your projcet.
With all of the discussion, one possibility that maybe hasn't been discussed as much is that Tesla also has no desire to litigate and went for a strategy of trying to convince as many people as they could to either sign a new contract or walk away, and even tried offering a free PW to some or payment of monies spent in anticipation of the on-site work beginning. By reducing the backlog of unprofitable projects, they got to a point where they would move forward with what was left among those customers who indicated they were not going to willingly/easily cancel or accept a new contract.
I'm certainly not defending them in that case, and it still may well run afoul of various consumer protection laws, but it might also let them try to claim (in court/arbitration and to the public) that they technically did not breach the contracts.
Nope, still has the "action items" and "new pricing".
But also says no to-do's and install scheduled for 3 weeks from now...
I’m wondering the same thing. Maybe the increased prices are simply for those who want to expedite installation, and they will eventually fulfill the old contracts for those who don’t agree to the increase (or cancel altogether). It would still be a dishonest business practice but maybe technically not Illegal if they do fulfill the old contracts ultimately. Of course, for those with an old leaky roof, waiting to find out isn’t much of an option.
Has anyone been explicitly told, verbally or in writing, that the old contract would be cancelled if the new terms were not accepted?
I saw one post on another forum where the person claimed they were told that. I do not know the person, so can't vouch for accuracy. The claim was they were told they had 30 days to accept the new contract, after that they would be given a few days notice (3? I forget.) Then the order would be automatically cancelled. (Not in writing, this was a verbal discussion with an advisor.)
Upthread someone said their new contract was removed from their account... so who knows, maybe things aren't being handled the same for everyone. Maybe some of the advisors don't know the full story and are just trying to sell the contract change. Hard to tell at this point.
So .... what exactly happened to me was, like everyone else, I received a new contract with increased price about two weeks ago.
I have not signed the new contract and not intend to do so. Last week, Tesla person called saying that since my installation date is
so close, they will throw in a free power-wall if I go with the new price. I verbally agreed with the deal and he said he would update the contract
and get back to me. I logged on to my Tesla account today, all I see are the original installation date is still there along with the original (low price) contract.
Who knows, perhaps, after seeing all these negative reactions they have a change of heart and forgive us the price increase crossing my fingers again
. I am Best option for me is the original price but I'm OK with the free power-wall option
I have not signed the new contract and not intend to do so. Last week, Tesla person called saying that since my installation date is
so close, they will throw in a free power-wall if I go with the new price. I verbally agreed with the deal and he said he would update the contract
and get back to me. I logged on to my Tesla account today, all I see are the original installation date is still there along with the original (low price) contract.
Who knows, perhaps, after seeing all these negative reactions they have a change of heart and forgive us the price increase crossing my fingers again
. I am Best option for me is the original price but I'm OK with the free power-wall optionSo I joined just to give my 2 cents. I also had a roof on order since November. Supposedly all permits pulled etc. Then Saturday the revised price dropped with a whooping 44% price increase. I called my advisor who was very apologetic. I asked what percent of his clients were pushing forward and he said about half. That seems VERY hard to believe given what I'm seeing in here but I suppose it is possible that there are really that many willing to swallow any BS that Tesla dishes out.
I ran my contract past a buddy of mine who is a top civil litigator in the state and waiting to hear back. I began changing the color scheme of my house, one that clashed with the whole neighborhood but perfectly matched the Tesla roof, including adding expensive stone façade cladding in a complimentary color. I would never have gone this way if it wasn't for the roof. Very, very frustrated. I also told many neighbors I had the roof on order and a few were interested but will now assume I was some kind of fibbing blow gut.
I'm just floored that Tesla is willing to burn all these customers with signed contracts and damage their reputation as well as lose future business from these customers and the word of mouth they will bring. I also have a Cybertruck on order but I have such a bad taste in my mouth I doubt I will move forward with that as well. I understand that Tesla was probably losing lots of money on every install and so had to make this change to make the solar roof at least a break even proposition but you don't do this to signed contract customers. They should have had a team of "bean counters" closely tracking all costs and making adjustments along the way to all new contracts and they should have had supplier contracts in place that hedged against any covid/supply chain price fluctuations that affected their bottom line for signed contracts with pending future installations. This is precisely what the airline industry does with volatile fuel prices. When I book a flight 6 months in advance I don't get an email from the airline 3 days prior to departure that I have to cough up another 50% for my ticket to be valid because jet fuel went way up in price since the time of booking.
Lastly how much could this possibly have cost Tesla energy in the big picture to honor existing contracts? Their energy business is a 2+ billion dollar business, could they have absorbed some of it? At the very very least they could have written us a frank email and offered to split the difference between their current roof pricing and existing contract?
I ran my contract past a buddy of mine who is a top civil litigator in the state and waiting to hear back. I began changing the color scheme of my house, one that clashed with the whole neighborhood but perfectly matched the Tesla roof, including adding expensive stone façade cladding in a complimentary color. I would never have gone this way if it wasn't for the roof. Very, very frustrated. I also told many neighbors I had the roof on order and a few were interested but will now assume I was some kind of fibbing blow gut.
I'm just floored that Tesla is willing to burn all these customers with signed contracts and damage their reputation as well as lose future business from these customers and the word of mouth they will bring. I also have a Cybertruck on order but I have such a bad taste in my mouth I doubt I will move forward with that as well. I understand that Tesla was probably losing lots of money on every install and so had to make this change to make the solar roof at least a break even proposition but you don't do this to signed contract customers. They should have had a team of "bean counters" closely tracking all costs and making adjustments along the way to all new contracts and they should have had supplier contracts in place that hedged against any covid/supply chain price fluctuations that affected their bottom line for signed contracts with pending future installations. This is precisely what the airline industry does with volatile fuel prices. When I book a flight 6 months in advance I don't get an email from the airline 3 days prior to departure that I have to cough up another 50% for my ticket to be valid because jet fuel went way up in price since the time of booking.
Lastly how much could this possibly have cost Tesla energy in the big picture to honor existing contracts? Their energy business is a 2+ billion dollar business, could they have absorbed some of it? At the very very least they could have written us a frank email and offered to split the difference between their current roof pricing and existing contract?
RainMeister
E = M3P
I too did not sign the new contract, and noticed it had disappeared from my account. So I contacted my account rep, and was informed that Tesla had withdrawn the new contract. They will honor the original contract price.
My project is scheduled to commence tomorrow, so the close proximity of the work may have had something to do with their decision. As if on cue, they dropped off the brackets and the underlay this morning. They start stripping the roof off tomorrow.
There are still long-term concerns about the viability of Tesla's energy business, and these recent practices only heighten those concerns, so I hope they will do the right thing and take care of all of those who were under contract at the time of the announced changes to their pricing methodology.
no way, really!!! congratulations !!! I hope they do the same to the rest of us. that's the right thing to do.
Fantastic. I mean, obviously there is a problem with the cost of the solar roof, as in a major miscalculation of labor costs.
It seems like such a cool product, I hope installation goes well.
For me, my 16.32 panels and 3 PWs are running great. The Gateway and Powerwalls are unbelievable tech.
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