Musk Says Tesla’s Solar Shingles Will Cost Less Than a Dumb Roof - “Electricity is just a bonus.”
Musk Says Tesla’s Solar Shingles Will Cost Less Than a
Dumb Roof
“Electricity is just a bonus.”
By Tom Randall November 17, 2016 — 3:33 PM PST
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It’s official: After Tesla shareholders approved the
acquisition of SolarCity, the new company is now an unequivocal sun-to-vehicle
energy firm. And Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk didn’t take long to make his
first big announcement as head of this new enterprise.
Minutes after shareholders approved the deal—about 85
percent of them voted yes—Musk told the crowd that he had just returned from a
meeting with his new solar engineering team. Tesla’s new solar roof product, he
proclaimed, will actually cost less to manufacture and install than a
traditional roof—even before savings from the power bill. “Electricity,” Musk
said, “is just a bonus.”
If Musk’s claims prove true, this could be a real turning
point in the evolution of solar power. The rooftop shingles he unveiled just a
few weeks ago are something to behold: They’re made of textured glass and are
virtually indistinguishable from high-end roofing products. They also transform
light into power for your home and your electric car.
“So the basic proposition will be: Would you like a roof
that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and—by
the way—generates electricity?” Musk said. “Why would you get anything else?”
Make no mistake: The new shingles will still be a premium
product, at least when they first roll out. The terra cotta and slate roofs
Tesla mimicked are among the most expensive roofing materials on the
market—costing as much as 20 times more than cheap asphalt shingles.
Much of the cost savings Musk is anticipating comes from
shipping the materials. Traditional roofing materials are brittle, heavy, and
bulky. Shipping costs are high, as is the quantity lost to breakage. The new
tempered-glass roof tiles, engineered in Tesla’s new automotive and solar glass
division, weigh as little as a fifth of current products and are considerably
easier to ship, Musk said.
When Musk first unveiled the tiles on Oct. 28, the
pricing details were murkier. He said that someone who buys a Tesla roof when
the product is released next summer will save money compared with someone who
buys a comparable traditional roof, plus electricity from the grid. But on a
large house over a long period of time, the value of that electricity could
exceed $100,000. The new target he unveiled today is considerably cheaper, and
it's considerably more promising for the future of rooftop solar power.
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