Tesla solar roof installations are underway, with Chief Executive Elon Musk saying that his home was among the first.
“I have them on my house, JB has them on his house,” Musk said, referring J.B. Straubel, Tesla’s CTO. “This is version one. I think this roof is going to look really knock-out as we just keep iterating.”
Musk discussed the solar roof installations during Wednesday’s earnings call. Similar to the process of obtaining a Model 3, Tesla employees will get first dibs on the energy-capturing shingles. Tesla believes that serving employees first helps identify improvements in the sales and installation process ahead of delivering an experience to public customers.
Tesla began in May taking $1,000 deposits for roofing made from smooth black glass shingles designed to look just like traditional high-end roofing, but with a solar cell embedded beneath the surface.
Tesla began producing the tiles at its Fremont, Calif. plant, but the work will be moved to a new factory in Buffalo, N.Y. next year. Increased production into 2018 is expected to enable sales in international markets, as well as the introduction of new products such as sculpted terra cotta and slate versions of the solar roof.
While Tesla seems to be on track to successfully bring the solar roof to market, it’s worth noting that its solar roof chief Peter Rive, a co-founder and chief technology officer at SolarCity, announced his departure last month. Tesla said Rive’s responsibilities would distributed among other Tesla engineers.
Tesla bought SolarCity for $2.6 billion last year, paving the way for Musk’s ambitious plans for consumers to power their Tesla vehicles and homes with energy captured through Tesla’s solar roof and stored in its Powerpack batteries.
“I have them on my house, JB has them on his house,” Musk said, referring J.B. Straubel, Tesla’s CTO. “This is version one. I think this roof is going to look really knock-out as we just keep iterating.”
Musk discussed the solar roof installations during Wednesday’s earnings call. Similar to the process of obtaining a Model 3, Tesla employees will get first dibs on the energy-capturing shingles. Tesla believes that serving employees first helps identify improvements in the sales and installation process ahead of delivering an experience to public customers.
Tesla began in May taking $1,000 deposits for roofing made from smooth black glass shingles designed to look just like traditional high-end roofing, but with a solar cell embedded beneath the surface.
Tesla began producing the tiles at its Fremont, Calif. plant, but the work will be moved to a new factory in Buffalo, N.Y. next year. Increased production into 2018 is expected to enable sales in international markets, as well as the introduction of new products such as sculpted terra cotta and slate versions of the solar roof.
While Tesla seems to be on track to successfully bring the solar roof to market, it’s worth noting that its solar roof chief Peter Rive, a co-founder and chief technology officer at SolarCity, announced his departure last month. Tesla said Rive’s responsibilities would distributed among other Tesla engineers.
Tesla bought SolarCity for $2.6 billion last year, paving the way for Musk’s ambitious plans for consumers to power their Tesla vehicles and homes with energy captured through Tesla’s solar roof and stored in its Powerpack batteries.
Last edited by a moderator:
