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Solar Roof, big price increase
- Thread starter nicholb
- Start date
So, I was one of the customers who opted to proceed with signing the revised higher contract, but only after they sweetened the deal by including a free powerwall. Our three day tear-off occurred in early June, and the three full week solar roof install occurred throughout July, completing July 29th. We finally got PTO on Monday of this week.
We're still working through one last punch list item to get someone to come back to do interior finish work for three skylights the sub that did the tear-off said had to be raised 6". The Tesla crew lead for the solar install shared that at least for us, the skylights would have been fine as-is. We didn't get dinged for the work, but it would have been nice to avoid this multi-month headache. I've also refused to make the final payment until the finish work is done, so now the Tesla finance people are hounding us, even though multiple calls to the non-finance people say we're perfectly within our right not to pay until this is done.
Anyway, on topic for the recent news that Tesla is now back peddling and honoring the original contracts, I asked about this and how it might apply to us in my last call fighting the finance collections people. Without hesitation, the Tesla Energy contact I was on the phone with acknowledged what I had seen on forums and in the news was true, and that Tesla was just working through the policy change internally and messaging to customers like us that did the installs at the higher price. He said that customers who proceeded with the higher priced contract would be getting a rebate for the difference between what they ended up paying and the original contract, less any incentives kicked in to the newer contract (read... they would offset the rebate by the value of the free powerwall they added in).
This is great news to hear that Tesla is doing the right thing here. It's horrible it took this long, and that it did so much damage to the customer base that Tesla relies upon to sell their products by word of mouth.
Good update, and glad to hear Tesla is finally trying to do the right thing. But I really do wonder (and we will probably never know) whether this whole incident was worth it for them. They certainly generated a lot of bad publicity and unhappy customers, plus the costs involved in dealing with customers, including legal fees. And, now they seem to be honoring the original pricing after all. But, I assume they still managed to shed some percentage of the apparently-unprofitable jobs from customers who decided to cancel. Of course, it is also interesting that after the big hike, they have since dropped their prices back down to levels closer (though still somewhat above) what they had been.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
Based on the prior history and behavior of Tesla, I would strongly encourage you to get the refund commitment in writing before you make the final payment.
I agreed. I have an e-mail from the Tesla Energy representative I spoke with on the phone just for this reason. He was happy to send it when I asked. He also indicated they will almost certainly only process refund payments for fully paid customers. ie. they wouldn't apply the refund as a credit on the balance due, even though that would certainly simplify things as far as I'm concerned.
Maybe the backtracking was simply because everyone had a signed contract and they simply reneged on it and they would honestly just lose every single trial court case once it's brought to court?
I doubt this was done out of the goodness of their heart right? My guess is that any of these go to trial, they'll lose and this was just nipping it in the bud. I would assume anyone purchasing solar roofs has the financial means ($$$$) and possible willpower to take all legal actions necessary for an unhonored contract.
I doubt this was done out of the goodness of their heart right? My guess is that any of these go to trial, they'll lose and this was just nipping it in the bud. I would assume anyone purchasing solar roofs has the financial means ($$$$) and possible willpower to take all legal actions necessary for an unhonored contract.
I complained for the old pricing and my overall cost just went down 1k because my array was oversized from 7.25 --> 11.7 kW and I was given a free powerwall+. Not much a difference.
So yes you can get the old pricing but they will charge you for any "freebies" they gave you. I'm going to try again and tell them they said the oversize was free.
So yes you can get the old pricing but they will charge you for any "freebies" they gave you. I'm going to try again and tell them they said the oversize was free.
100% this. They did stem the bleeding a bit by getting a bunch of us who were sick of their antics to cancel, and they’re now going to save more on legal fees by stopping now.
Sent this to them. Rejected again. So new contract is $800 less but also $100 less in tax incentive so meh. Finally cost ~51k for 11.69kw Array and 1x Powerwall+. This also included free fascia, soffit, and landscaping damage lol.
Still refusing to pay them a nickel until they "clean up" and actually do a good job on the trim of the roof.
I talked to Tesla advisor and he clarified that ice shield is another layer goes below Tesla underlayment so it is nothing special to prevent snow avalanches. My install starts next Monday.
hmmm ... interesting
I thought underlayment was waterproof. I wonder what an ice shield layer underneath it would do.
Perhaps be more "slippery" to shed water better? Making it less likely to build up ice? Waterproof doesn't mean that water wouldn't stick to it, e.g. roofing felt.
With black tiles on a warm roof, I am having trouble imaging the scenarios that accumulate ice on the roof under the tiles (if properly installed!), even if the tiles cool off more rapidly at night.
All the best,
BG
I had a regular roof company talk about ice shield as well (a regional well established company for shingles) and it sounded like additional protection at the edges of the roof, especially where water would run down a wall and butt in to the roof surface. (Sounded like at the siding to lower roof surface junctions, primarily.) To prevent the water freeze, partial thaw, re-freeze cycles from opening water intrusion spots at those edges.
No idea if Tesla is using the same idea or if their use of the term is different! But certainly not related to snow avalanches, in those contexts.
No idea if Tesla is using the same idea or if their use of the term is different! But certainly not related to snow avalanches, in those contexts.
I got an email from a “Sr. Manager, Resi Energy Customer Relations”, informing me that Tesla is now accepting the original terms of my solar roof contract (signed Dec 2019).
He asked that we talk on the phone so he could explain the offer and hear about my experiences dealing with Tesla Energy. Here’s part of the email he sent:
“Obviously, as a former GC (general contractor) myself, I completely understand the irreparable damage that the pricing change in April did with regard to maintaining any credibility with impacted customers. I fully appreciate that the change in direction to honor original pricing points for the V3 product does little to restore that breach in trust and that little I can say will have much impact there either.
“If you’re willing, I would really like to get your feedback on the other gross mistakes in your on-going project to make sure that we are learning and taking appropriate steps to correct those as well.”
Unfortunately, he ghosted my emails for two weeks before finally calling me, thereby reinforcing one of my persistent complaints that they are impossible to reach for customer service.
Anyway, when we did talk, he was polite, had read the files about my 2+ years of dealings with semi-competent Tesla staff, and seemed genuinely apologetic about the experiences.
I explained that I would not be proceeding with a Solar Roof purchase until there was solid evidence that they had finally gotten their act together. He said he appreciated my position, and offered to reinstate my original contract in the future if I changed my mind.
I asked him if this offer was unique to me, and he said no, that it was being offered to everybody who had a signed contract at the time of the price increase. As noted by others here.
Interestingly, as reported in various news outlets, Tesla only made this decision after a class action lawsuit was underway in the Federal District Court in San Jose. Apparently Tesla’s lawyers recognized that the lawsuit would not go well for them and decided to cut their losses. Sad that Tesla Energy’s managers couldn’t see the massive losses in customer trust, and quickly reverse course on their own, before being taken to court by those customers.
Anyway, I’m in wait-and-see mode until further notice. I’d like to hear from others’ experiences with Tesla’s reversal.
I finally got my refund, but it took some effort and waiting. After repeated attempts to contact Tesla through their refund website, with no reply, I finally had to wade through my past emails to find a customer service rep who has been responsive. This guy did reply, and told me that there had been a glitch in their refund records that he would try to fix. He has to go to a supervisor to get it fixed, and that shook the refund loose. As a company, Tesla Energy continues to be very difficult to deal with.
lololol, I wonder what Tesla would do if the time came that you owed them payment... and you just kept not paying by ghosting them. Then when they finally sent an angry person to your house, you said a glitch in your system had to be jiggled loose.
Haha...yeah, the old corporate policy of no refunds or deny what's written in a contract (this whole Solar Roof thread) until some "issue" (or a guaranteed lost class action lawsuit vs. well to do solar roof buyers suing you) before doing what you were originally supposed to do anyways.
RainMeister
E = M3P
My contract, signed just a few months before the price increase, was honored early on without drama. The advisor I worked with was very professional and prompt in his communications, and I experienced little delay or difficulty with my install. What's puzzling to me is the wide disparity in customer experiences throughout this sad episode. The negative press, lawsuits, and government investigations, could have all been avoided.
Anyway, my solar installation commenced on time in May, the completed work was inspected by the city in June, and with Socal Edison's blessing, I was able to turn on the solar roof in July. It all went like clockwork. Tesla's work crew was very experienced ("a few hundred installations"), professional and courteous; I would rate them as excellent. The system has been generating electricity since late July, although not quite at the rate I expected, so the jury is still out on that. All in all, I'm very pleased with the experience.
So what went so wrong for others? I can only guess that with the high turnover among Tesla Solar's senior management team as things were unfolding, an organization already under stress devolved into chaos. With a weakened central command, decision-making became ad hoc, and consistent messaging and responsiveness was lost. Customer service became hit-or-miss for many; I was among the lucky ones.
Just as with their EV division, I hope Tesla Solar survives this experience, and becomes all the more stronger for it. However, for that to happen, Elon Musk needs to build up a stronger organizational core, and then allow his team to perform ("Trust, but verify, and then get out of the way" is what I tell my management team). They have an aspirational product, and if they can keep costs reasonable, I believe there is still a strong market and future for Tesla Solar.
Anyway, my solar installation commenced on time in May, the completed work was inspected by the city in June, and with Socal Edison's blessing, I was able to turn on the solar roof in July. It all went like clockwork. Tesla's work crew was very experienced ("a few hundred installations"), professional and courteous; I would rate them as excellent. The system has been generating electricity since late July, although not quite at the rate I expected, so the jury is still out on that. All in all, I'm very pleased with the experience.
So what went so wrong for others? I can only guess that with the high turnover among Tesla Solar's senior management team as things were unfolding, an organization already under stress devolved into chaos. With a weakened central command, decision-making became ad hoc, and consistent messaging and responsiveness was lost. Customer service became hit-or-miss for many; I was among the lucky ones.
Just as with their EV division, I hope Tesla Solar survives this experience, and becomes all the more stronger for it. However, for that to happen, Elon Musk needs to build up a stronger organizational core, and then allow his team to perform ("Trust, but verify, and then get out of the way" is what I tell my management team). They have an aspirational product, and if they can keep costs reasonable, I believe there is still a strong market and future for Tesla Solar.
I’m glad to hear that the lucky ones got good service and timely installations. Hopefully, this will become universal for all customers. If/ when it does, I may renew my order and get a Solar Roof of my own.
Keep those success stories coming!
Apparently they can add solar tiles closer to the roof edge now which is increasing max KW production. For my roof this bumped the max up from 32KW to 42KW.
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