It’s okay, Elon has moved on. Now let’s install his 100% trusty brain probes. What could go wrong?
Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
21–30 of 154 posts
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#22The Walton Family also happens to own much of First Solar, a competing provider of photovoltaic cells.
The Walton family collectively is worth over $150 billion, it’s not surprising they have exposure to a solar company somewhere in their vast fortune. If you’re implying that this lawsuit has no merit because of that investment that seems like an incredibly shaky accusation.
It's a little curious they wouldn't choose to buy panels from a company they own.... don't you think?
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Walton family collectively is worth over $150 billion, it’s not surprising they have exposure to a solar company somewhere in their vast fortune. If you’re implying that this lawsuit has no merit because of that investment that seems like an incredibly shaky accusation.
It's a little curious they wouldn't choose to buy panels from a company they own.... don't you think?
Honestly not really.
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#24A Journal of Light Construction editor had a fire in his SolarCity panel set-up as well, and had a hard time getting it sorted out. https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/solar-panel-fire... and here's a follow-up: https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/solar-panel-fire...
Really bad customer service.
And another follow-up.[1] The old panels get removed and the roof gets new shingles. But no new solar panels yet.
[1] https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/solar-panel-fire...
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
“This is a breach of contract action arising from years of gross negligence and failure to live up to industry standards by Tesla with respect to solar panels that Tesla designed, installed, and promised to operate and maintain safely on the roofs of hundreds of Walmart stores,” Tesla seems to be the operator and maintainer. I would expect a contract has maintenance as a flat fee per year if it is anything like other…
As alleged by Walmart. Failure due to rushed, shoddy work is definitely Tesla's M.O., but Walmart is also not exactly the most credible source, given their history.
It would be incredibly stupid to lie in court documents about Tesla "promised to operate and maintain" since the that is pretty easy to disprove.
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Walton family collectively is worth over $150 billion, it’s not surprising they have exposure to a solar company somewhere in their vast fortune. If you’re implying that this lawsuit has no merit because of that investment that seems like an incredibly shaky accusation.
It's a little curious they wouldn't choose to buy panels from a company they own.... don't you think?
First Solar has acted as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm for large ground-mounted solar farms, but they have never been in the rooftop solar installation business like SolarCity.
First Solar's panels would also be an unusual choice for a rooftop installation even if a different installer handled the work. Rooftop solar installations typically call for high efficiency panels. First Solar makes lower efficiency, lower cost panels that maintain performance at elevated temperatures. Their panels are good for solar farms, particularly in hot climates. They don't have anything special to recommend their use in rooftop projects.
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#27The Walton Family also happens to own much of First Solar, a competing provider of photovoltaic cells.
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Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#28Another Tesla bashing article by mainstream media, move along. 100s of thousand of damage, that's pocket change for Walmart and Tesla. Model X and S burst into flame !!! Tesla stock is down 1%, Be Afraid ! Don't buy Tesla !!! Tesla spend zero on advertising, their main source of revenue. They are also disrupting big oil and the auto industry, plenty of enemies to go around.
Teslas bursting into flames is a real risk though.
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#29Anyone know details about how the solar panels resulted in fires?
These specific cases, no. But I used to work for a company that made solar components and fires were our biggest fear.
The most likely issue is incorrect design or installation due to the complications of DC power. This article goes into details https://iffmag.mdmpublishing.com/solar-panels-and-the-dc-dan...
Simply put DC power with enough current to power a home is much more dangerous than AC. And solar power isn't converted to AC until it gets to the inverter.
Meaning all the wiring and everything in the solar system has a ton of current going through it on a sunny day. If the system was designed incorrectly or installed incorrectly then there isn't going to be enough copper for that current to go through at some point and it's going to heat up and start a fire.
You can also have components fail and all that. But given they are blaming Solar City I'd bet on it being improper installation or inadequate design of the system for the load.
Re: Walmart sues Tesla over fires at stores fitted with its solar panels
#30Wasn’t this work done during the SolarCity years?
I found that interesting as well. The article is trying to link solar panel failures to Tesla vehicle failures. They were not born from the same company nor process. It seems whatever generated the story was looking for some segue into how the price is down. The stock price was affected by the market's new knowledge. They both contain words for fire but are otherwise independent and distant events in Tesla's history.…
My friends at SolarCity never had to work 70h in a week before Tesla acquired them (nor work weekends installing solar panels on Musk mansion in L.A.)
So it might very well be the result of the same company and processes.