Tesla Solar Roof is on life support as it pivot to panels

Post by mbreese » Mon, May 18, 2026, 3:49 AM UTC

freetime2 wrote: post #171

kccqzy wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my opinion, the Tesla Solar Roof really appealed to people who wanted good looks. They probably already have their “forever” homes and are not thinking of moving at all. It is more about the emotional attachment to this part of your home than its functional aspects. You can buy a $100 dining table from IKEA or you can buy a $1,000 dining table from Pottery Barn or you can buy a custom $5,000 dining table made from…

Yeah and I think that's fine - and as I mentioned below my own reasons for installing solar panels were not just financially motivated. But the economics are also hugely important. Most people don't buy $5,000 tables, and most people don't buy Tesla Solar Roofs - the article says they sold 3,000 total in the last decade. And I don't think Tesla wants to be in the bespoke roof business - they want to be selling to the…

Post by DougN7 » Mon, May 18, 2026, 4:01 AM UTC

brikym wrote: post #178

akerl_ wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if the two things you want are "solar power for your home" and "for your roof to not be covered in obvious solar panels". I have a Tesla solar roof. I bought it knowing there were cheaper options for equivalent solar power because I liked the aesthetics.

Does it actually make sense financially vs investing in something else?

Post by shye » Mon, May 18, 2026, 4:10 AM UTC

moffkalast wrote: post #63

peterisza wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it was a genuine attempt but they failed to find a simple enough solution.

Invisible solar is a genuine use case in areas with shitty power tripping HOAs, but even regular solar takes a decade to break even, so if you sell something like that at inflated Tesla level prices then they simply never will and there is no reason to buy them in the first place.

Post by [deleted] » Mon, May 18, 2026, 4:12 AM UTC

gtowey wrote: post #180

freetime2 wrote: post #115

> The economics never worked either. An average Tesla Solar Roof costs approximately $106,000 before incentives, compared to roughly $60,000 for a traditional roof replacement plus conventional solar panels — a $46,000 premium. The payback period stretches to 15-25 years, compared to 7-12 years for traditional panels. Yikes that’s a lot of money. For most people buying solar, I think payback period is probably the bi…

It's even worse than that. They're making the comparison of a solar roof to a new standard roof plus solar panels, but most people absolutely do not replace their roof when they get panels so the cost difference is more like 106k vs 30k.

Post by freetime2 » Mon, May 18, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC

sergiotapia wrote: post #190

freetime2 wrote: post #115

> The economics never worked either. An average Tesla Solar Roof costs approximately $106,000 before incentives, compared to roughly $60,000 for a traditional roof replacement plus conventional solar panels — a $46,000 premium. The payback period stretches to 15-25 years, compared to 7-12 years for traditional panels. Yikes that’s a lot of money. For most people buying solar, I think payback period is probably the bi…

I would love some kind of solar, but when I know how cheap it is to install it in places like Africa AND use cutting edge chinese solar/battery tech, my enthusiasm to pay a USA premium makes me just close the tabs. It's too expensive in america for some reason.