I just saw this news come up- I'd think they would be excited about rebuilding torched California with new solar roofs over the next year or two...
Reuters link no workee here. What price are they saying? I read Tesla solar roof tiles cost $21 per sq ft which is much more than photovoltaics that look like what they are.
To fairly compare the price of roof tiles, you need to add the cost of the roof to the cost of PV cells, then compare to what the Tesla roof with equivalent capacity costs. Comparing just PV panels to tiles is not a fair comparison. Tesla tiles are a roof replacement product AND PV energy generators. Geared either to new construction or to people who are replacing the roof anyway and opt for Tesla roof. I also love that Tesla lowered the cost of its product by slashing sales in half.
I'm curious to see how well their roofing product ages. I can't help but think there will be problems with all those interconnects and weather exposure. I imagine I'll have some ordinary panels up long before the jury is back, though.
Somebody has to be buying these Tesla roofs. Because we're busting our tails getting these things out the door. Well to be honest, we're busting our tails for all our customers right now. It's as if the energy storage business is in overdrive right now. (I should add that we only make the battery cases, not the actual battery for these things).
I wonder what any of the solar system manufacturers -- roofs, panels, or otherwise have to say regarding warranties. Of course, some of this information I expect to have details describing % degradation versus age. There's a lot to consider here. Not to mention the unknown future of electricity prices, and what I expect to be a marked increase going forward - to cover infrastructure improvements/upgrades, etc.
