Tesla Drops Solar Roofs Nearly a Decade After Musk’s $10B Solar Bet
Synopsis
The company has stopped selling its premium solar roof tiles, launched by Elon Musk in 2016 and is redirecting customers to conventional solar panels despite plans for a $10.1 billion solar-cell factory in Texas.
Tesla has stopped selling its premium Solar Roof tiles through its website, ending a nearly decade-long push to make solar power a more attractive part of residential architecture.
The company's Solar Roof webpage now redirects customers to its conventional solar panels offering. The discontinuation was first reported by Electrek last week.
CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Solar Roof in 2016 as Tesla was moving to acquire SolarCity, the solar installation company run by his cousins.
The product was designed to combine roofing materials with solar cells. It offered an alternative to traditional panels mounted on top of a roof.
However, the Solar Roof struggled to reach the scale Tesla had initially hoped for.
Solar Roof Falls Short of Tesla's Ambitions
Tesla had targeted 1,000 Solar Roof installations a week in 2021. Industry estimates suggested actual installations were far below that goal.
The product also faced challenges linked to installation costs and the complexity of replacing conventional roofing with solar-integrated tiles.
Unlike standard solar panels, the Solar Roof required a different approach to the roof itself. It made installation more involved.
Tesla has now shifted its residential solar strategy towards traditional panels. The company produces the panels at its factory in Buffalo, New York and began delivering them to residential customers this year.
The change suggests Tesla is focusing on a simpler and more established solar product rather than continuing to push the specialised roof-tile system.
Musk Still has Major Solar Plans
Despite the Solar Roof's apparent exit, Tesla has not abandoned solar power.
The company filed plans in Texas this month for a proposed $10.1 billion solar-cell factory outside Houston. The project is expected to create 9,712 permanent jobs which highlights the scale of Tesla's remaining ambitions in the solar industry.
The move also comes as Tesla continues to reshape its energy business around products that can be produced and deployed at greater scale.
For homeowners, the disappearance of Solar Roof marks the end of one of Tesla's more ambitious attempts to merge clean energy with consumer design. For Tesla, the focus now appears to be on conventional solar panels and much larger manufacturing capacity.
Source: Reuters
Vishal is an experienced Editor at Inspirepreneur Magazine with key interests in artificial intelligence, eCommerce, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and startup sector. Prior to joining Inspirepreneur, he was a Content Writer cum Correspondent at Siliconindia Magazine, where he worked on Company Profiles, Cover Stories, Executive Profiles, Feature Articles and Thought Leadership content.
