Is the Third Time the Charm for Tesla Solar Roof?

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

Partnering with roofing contractors might be key to success.

Tesla formally unveiled it’s third-generation Solar Roof last week. One day prior to the launch, Elon Musk announced during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call that the first two versions were not ready for the public at large. Using a new kind of textured black glass tile, perhaps v3 of Solar Roof is up to the challenge.

Musk said on a call with reporters that the price is "less than what the average roof costs plus solar panels." Mashable reports that Tesla estimates the price of the roofs starting at $33,950, which includes discounts from estimated federal tax credits.

Tesla has run into issues with its solar installations causing fires. RCS reported last month that Tesla was named in a lawsuit by Walmart, saying the solar installations caused fires at seven stores, resulting in $8 million in damages.

Greentechmedia reported that Musk said, “Tesla is open to working with roofers outside of his organization.” Previously Tesla was only using its own in-house installers which presented challenges including setting up an internal roofing business and competing with other established roofing companies.

Musk said he is open to creating a program to certify roof installers, enlisting the help of experienced roofing contractors to improve the installation process. With a goal of installing the complete roof in eight hours’ time, Musk might be risking quality over speed. He said that the company has made improvements that speed installation and have hosted installation sessions near its California headquarters to test installation speed. We hope that he listens to the roofing industry experts and is able to set realistic expectations for the installation.

The roofs are available now at mass scale, according to Musk, but in reality, production is still being ramped up at the Buffalo, New York facility that is manufacturing the tiles. Anyone can place an order now but there will be wait time. Musk’s goal is to get to 1,000 roofs per week being produced at the Buffalo plant.

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Image credit: Tesla