Tesla Solar Roof Warranty Claim

[kp80]

Anyone have experience filing a warranty claim for Tesla Solar Roof? My roof was installed in January of 2021 and I just suffered my second roof leak since having it installed. The first time was after they tore off my existing roof and installed the underlayment. There was a 2+ week gap between that being installed and the solar tiles actually being installed and I suffered a water leak from the top of my roof after a bad storm. Since Tesla was already on site, they came right away and fixed it and I spoke to my project manager at the time and was advised to submit a receipt with all the materials I had to buy to dry the attic as well as mold treatment/fans, ect.

Now 1 year later, after a blizzard in New England, my attic got hit with snow and as it started melting it leaked through the ceiling of the 2nd floor of my house. I used the app to submit a ticket but if anyone has gone through this I would appreciate any feedback. According to the limited warranty the roof is covered for 25 years as part of "Weatherization Warranty" but only seems to say they will repair the roof itself, not actually cover the damage caused by the leak?

 

[trautmane2]

I have not had any leak problems with my solar roof, but I did have Tesla address a production issue that ended up being a wiring problem. I would recommend you call the Tesla Customer Care number for existing customers (725-867-6182) and talk to someone in addition to whatever you submitted via the app.

 

[jboy210]

If you search for "roof replacement inside damage" you get a lot of hits. Most seem to imply that interior damage caused by a leak is not covered by the roof warranty.

 

[h2ofun]

If you search for "roof replacement inside damage" you get a lot of hits. Most seem to imply that interior damage caused by a leak is not covered by the roof warranty.

This is one of many reasons I would NEVER do a solar roof! You get a leak, or you get a bad panel, dealing with this would be a nightmare! And folks think over 20 plus years they are not going to maybe have some of these issues? No thanks.

 

[jboy210]

This is one of many reasons I would NEVER do a solar roof! You get a leak, or you get a bad panel, dealing with this would be a nightmare! And folks think over 20 plus years they are not going to maybe have some of these issues? No thanks.

Agreed roofs have issues. We had 3 tile roofs on our house in 25 years. Lots of cracked tiles.

However, I don't see how a solar roof is any worse than any other roof in these respects. In fact with ours, it would quite difficult for the roof to leak to the inside since the underlayment is Firestone SA-FR. It did not leak during the month-long Covid work stoppage in our installation even under some heavy rainstorms with no tiles over the underlayment.

Also, we have had Tesla out to look at the low output in the system. They just popped out some suspect tiles and replaced them. We got a 2 kW gain.

Then there is the question of solar company longevity and future warranty support. We had bids from Tesla and PetersenDean which was a massive operation in 4 or 5 Western states and advertised a lot on TV. We went with Tesla, and a few months after Tesla finished the installation, PetersenDean declared bankruptcy. We have yet to receive anything from the $500+ deposit we put down with PetersenDean. I can only imagine what support we would receive from PetersenDean successor if we had a roof or panel issue.

 

[holeydonut]

We have yet to receive anything from the $500+ deposit we put down with PetersenDean. I can only imagine what support we would receive from PetersenDean successor if we had a roof or panel issue.

Did you ever go on the Primeclerk site they should have told you about to submit a priority claim?

 

[jboy210]

Did you ever go on the Primeclerk site they should have told you about to submit a priority claim?

Never heard about this before your post. I will look into it. Thanks!

 

[holeydonut]

Never heard about this before your post. I will look into it. Thanks!

Yeah, it may not be Primeclerk running the docket ... could be Epiq. You should have been contacted with details at some point in the last 2 years to tell you about filing a claim.

A customer pre-order or deposit is considered a priority claim and would likely be paid out (assuming they haven't completed the bankruptcy). I just don't know the progression of the PD liquidation and whether you have missed your chance. Your $500 becomes free money to James Petersen and other creditors if it's unclaimed.

Edit, look for a form that includes this:

 

[jboy210]

Yeah, it may not be Primeclerk running the docket ... could be Epiq. You should have been contacted with details at some point in the last 2 years to tell you about filing a claim.

A customer pre-order or deposit is considered a priority claim and would likely be paid out (assuming they haven't completed the bankruptcy). I just don't know the progression of the PD liquidation and whether you have missed your chance. Your $500 becomes free money to James Petersen and other creditors if it's unclaimed.

Wait, Petersen is a creditor of his own company?

 

[holeydonut]

Wait, Petersen is a creditor of his own company?

If he's smart about how he set things up, yes. It would allow him to minimize his exposure to a highly capex/fixed-cost business since it'd be bad for him to be solely an equity holder.

Yep, looks like he's submitted himself as a primary claim holder to the tune of $57,000,000.

Epiq 11

Epiq11.com builds on a library of cases spanning two decades - the largest repository of such data in the industry outside of the federal court system.

dm.epiq11.com

Keeping this on track... @kp80 : regardless of whether Tesla honors a warranty work on your roof... contact your home insurance agent ASAP and apprise them of the situation. Make sure they are involved... if there is any damage happening to your house that only will get worse over time, you'll want that damage mitigated first before it goes off the rails. Companies are more effective at suing each other than you ever will be.

 

[jboy210]

If he's smart about how he set things up, yes. It would allow him to minimize his exposure to a highly capex/fixed-cost business since it'd be bad for him to be solely an equity holder.

Yep, looks like he's submitted himself as a primary claim holder to the tune of $57,000,000.

Epiq 11

Epiq11.com builds on a library of cases spanning two decades - the largest repository of such data in the industry outside of the federal court system.

dm.epiq11.com

Wow. And thanks for the link. Looks like we missed the time window. But if I am correctly reading the link you sent 557 pages of other creditors did not.

Update: I typed in my name and it shows 4 claims for $0.00. So he gets a $57M claim and we get a $0 claim. Hmm.

 

[holeydonut]

Wow. And thanks for the link. Looks like we missed the time window. But if I am correctly reading the link you sent 557 pages of other creditors did not.

Update: I typed in my name and it shows 4 claims for $0.00. So he gets a $57M claim and we get a $0 claim. Hmm.

Well, he's probably not going to get $57,000,000 ... he just put in a max amount to try and get as much as he could. Of the $57,000,000 only $13,650.00 is a priority claim (mostly a portion of unpaid salaries owed to James Petersen).

He had $30mm of personal guarantees that fall pretty low on the totem pole. But he also has like $25mm of bonds and personal property he has pledged to PD's loans. Not sure what the plan is for all this since they're just looking to re-organize and not liquidate, but he's probably losing some of this stuff.

 

[h2ofun]

Agreed roofs have issues. We had 3 tile roofs on our house in 25 years. Lots of cracked tiles.

However, I don't see how a solar roof is any worse than any other roof in these respects. In fact with ours, it would quite difficult for the roof to leak to the inside since the underlayment is Firestone SA-FR. It did not leak during the month-long Covid work stoppage in our installation even under some heavy rainstorms with no tiles over the underlayment.

Also, we have had Tesla out to look at the low output in the system. They just popped out some suspect tiles and replaced them. We got a 2 kW gain.

Then there is the question of solar company longevity and future warranty support. We had bids from Tesla and PetersenDean which was a massive operation in 4 or 5 Western states and advertised a lot on TV. We went with Tesla, and a few months after Tesla finished the installation, PetersenDean declared bankruptcy. We have yet to receive anything from the $500+ deposit we put down with PetersenDean. I can only imagine what support we would receive from PetersenDean successor if we had a roof or panel issue.

Anyone can work on my asphalt roof. And anyone can remove and work on the panels. How many will work on a telsa solar roof? In 20 years?

 

[jboy210]

Anyone can work on my asphalt roof. And anyone can remove and work on the panels. How many will work on a telsa solar roof? In 20 years?

I assume only Tesla and the 3rd party authorized installers will be able to work on a Tesla Solar roof. And those are the only people I want up on my roof.

Based on my recent experience with an asphalt roof replacement on our home in Texas, the people trained on the solar roof do a much better job.

 

[kp80]

Thanks all, the suggestions make sense. Ill contact my insurance as well, but still waiting to hear back from Tesla despite asking for an update and calling...

 

[SVDNN]

Had a minor leak during install process in a specialized area of the roof that was not covered properly (miscommunication between subcontractor and Tesla team). Interior damage was some drywall replacement and painting in a small bathroom that was taken care of completely by Tesla after installation. No problems with leak since...however, still a small area of cosmetic concern that I want to get better solution fix at some point (will go thru another service).

BUT, this was not an easy or efficient process to get finally completed requiring multiple phone calls and followups by me to Tesla. I had learned already the standard MO in dealing with Tesla for the most of the entire pre-installation process.

As mentioned, I also would not rely on an app request / submittal to really move forward to get work done with Tesla...rather call and talk to someone with confirmation of who/when to call again if nothing happens by a certain reasonable period of time. Get used to Call...call again.... call again...until get what you need done.

Customer service quality has always been the worst feature of the company & products. Unfortunate that it really does not have to be that way for a $1T valuation company

 

[gwhittaker]

Anyone have experience filing a warranty claim for Tesla Solar Roof? My roof was installed in January of 2021 and I just suffered my second roof leak since having it installed. The first time was after they tore off my existing roof and installed the underlayment. There was a 2+ week gap between that being installed and the solar tiles actually being installed and I suffered a water leak from the top of my roof after a bad storm. Since Tesla was already on site, they came right away and fixed it and I spoke to my project manager at the time and was advised to submit a receipt with all the materials I had to buy to dry the attic as well as mold treatment/fans, ect.

Now 1 year later, after a blizzard in New England, my attic got hit with snow and as it started melting it leaked through the ceiling of the 2nd floor of my house. I used the app to submit a ticket but if anyone has gone through this I would appreciate any feedback. According to the limited warranty the roof is covered for 25 years as part of "Weatherization Warranty" but only seems to say they will repair the roof itself, not actually cover the damage caused by the leak?

I had a solar roof installed about the same time. At the end of November last year, a piece of siding blew off and at the same time I noticed a missing piece of framing around a dormer. I put a Sevice ticket in through the app and nothing happened. A week later I called and after being on hold for almost an hour, was told to take pictures and send them in. Long story short, the app doesn’t work, there is really no customer support and there a complete lack of communication. I have spent hours on the phone. They finally scheduled someone to come out (I tried to hire another roofer and he wouldn’t touch it), so we’ll see. The Tesla Solar Roof is still in the lunatic fringe and not ready for prime time.

 

[momneedsanswer]

@kp80 How do you know the leak is from the panels? We have evidence of a leak but are unsure if it is from the panels or not.

 

[nicedrum]

Thanks all, the suggestions make sense. Ill contact my insurance as well, but still waiting to hear back from Tesla despite asking for an update and calling...

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I'm considering a Tesla solar roof in the Boston suburbs (roof is 26 years old, needs replacing), and just wondering what the resolution was, and whether you've been happy overall with your system?

 

[CrazyRabbit]

…after a blizzard in New England, my attic got hit with snow and as it started melting it leaked through the ceiling of the 2nd floor of my house. …

How did your attic get “hit with snow”?