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Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

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Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#61

Post by michaelbuckbee »

tbabb wrote: post #48
michaelbuckbee wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like any sort of tech: the first version is too expensive and then the price drops some % every year until we all have "supercomputers" in our pockets. Plain Solar Panel (non roof) installation has gone from $52k to $20k in the last decade [1] which is craziness. The other aspect of this is longevity. Setting all solar power generation aspects aside an asphalt roof will generally last 20-25 years. Tesla roof til…

20-25 years is at the limit of what I could imagine staying in one house with any certainty. How does the extra longevity justify the cost unless I plan to never ever move again?

It goes to the home's value (aka you'd get more when you sell it). I kind of think of it like brick. Brick has a much longer maintenance cycle than vinyl or wood siding.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#62

Post by michaelbuckbee »

Hasz wrote: post #55
michaelbuckbee wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like any sort of tech: the first version is too expensive and then the price drops some % every year until we all have "supercomputers" in our pockets. Plain Solar Panel (non roof) installation has gone from $52k to $20k in the last decade [1] which is craziness. The other aspect of this is longevity. Setting all solar power generation aspects aside an asphalt roof will generally last 20-25 years. Tesla roof til…

Moore's law is the exception, not the rule. Does Tesla have any sort of public lifetime estimates?

They are touting an "infinite warranty" for the integrity of the tiles (which doesn't include the electronics portion).

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#63

Post by reaperducer »

Every time Tesla talks about a "gigafactory" like this one, or the one in Reno, I'm reminded of the episode of The Simpsons, where a snake oil salesman comes to town and sells Springfield on the idea of building a monorail.

It's a factory. Yes, a big factory. But not bigger than a hundred that came before it. And even if it was, it doesn't warrant a new word.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#64

Post by Robotbeat »

reaperducer wrote: post #63

Every time Tesla talks about a "gigafactory" like this one, or the one in Reno, I'm reminded of the episode of The Simpsons, where a snake oil salesman comes to town and sells Springfield on the idea of building a monorail. It's a factory. Yes, a big factory. But not bigger than a hundred that came before it. And even if it was, it doesn't warrant a new word.

No, you're thinking of Hyperloop. (I like Elon Musk and Tesla and even the Hyperloop idea, but I can't help but get that song out of my head. "Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken! Monorail! Monorail! Monorail")

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#65

Post by simonsarris »

reaperducer wrote: post #63

Every time Tesla talks about a "gigafactory" like this one, or the one in Reno, I'm reminded of the episode of The Simpsons, where a snake oil salesman comes to town and sells Springfield on the idea of building a monorail. It's a factory. Yes, a big factory. But not bigger than a hundred that came before it. And even if it was, it doesn't warrant a new word.

So what? It's a clever and catchy name. Giga sounds ambitious and is also a common prefix when talking about energy.

Did you know that everyone who buys a Tesla is not, in fact, purchasing a dead Serbian-American guy?

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#66

Post by rconti »

JohnStudio wrote: post #10

I'm not a big fan of Elon Musk, but let's not get political. I do however, want to point out Buffalo .. its troubles with Solar City .. and its troubles with Elon Musk. Key (non-disputed / non-political points) - Tesla did not hire local workers, and did not hold up on its end for diversity of work-force - SolarCity received 750$ million in the Billion to Buffalo at a time it hadn't operated at a profit in over 2 yea…

It's pretty difficult to parse some parts of your post ("did not hold up on its end for diversity of work-force" "Billion to Buffalo", etc).

But I'm guessing these are not brought to the national level for discussion because none of them are unique to this company or that community?

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#68

Post by GiorgioG »

JohnStudio wrote: post #57
GiorgioG wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know that's long winded, but the historical throw-back .. plays out today, in cities like Buffalo .. where all I want is my black / latino / muslim communities of Buffalo to have the same equity that I have and live as well as I do. Unfortunately ... it's just not happening, despite the welfare dollar being so dominant here in New York (which I do not detest - I just want it used more strategically in regions of…

Cannot agree with you more, but poverty is still a limiting factor for a great many people that don't have "built in" survival skills.

Poverty is like starting a race in last place. There's only one person who's responsible for making sure you don't finish last. No amount of welfare, coddling, etc is going to make up for lack of motivation and drive. My parents weren't poor, we were middle-class - but they lived paycheck to paycheck and that scared the daylights out of me as I got older. That's what motivated me to succeed IMO - and I'm obviously fortunate to have picked software dev as a profession.

My grandparents were poor (my grandfather never learned to read - he went to work in the fields in Sicily at age 8) - that didn't stop him from working hard all of his life, buying a house, raising a family.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#69

Post by brians »

vonmoltke wrote: post #59
michaelbuckbee wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like any sort of tech: the first version is too expensive and then the price drops some % every year until we all have "supercomputers" in our pockets. Plain Solar Panel (non roof) installation has gone from $52k to $20k in the last decade [1] which is craziness. The other aspect of this is longevity. Setting all solar power generation aspects aside an asphalt roof will generally last 20-25 years. Tesla roof til…

In addition to the other replies, a slate roof is nowhere near ten times the cost of asphalt shingles. It's more like 3x, and that's only if you price the cheapest asphalt shingles.

I had a damaged slate roof. Bids to repair it, replacing most of it, were north of $100k. An asphalt roof with 30 year shingles was under $5k. Ten times isn’t enough.

I have a slate roof now, and pay a few hundred a year for replacement of broken skates. For historical-commission reasons, I’m much more likely to do Tesla-style tiles than anything else... and electricity here is 22¢/kWh.

Re: Tesla's New York Gigafactory Kicks Off Solar Roof Production

#70

Post by jacobkranz »

EGreg wrote: post #67

Why not put the solar panels on the cars themselves? Makes them charge somewhat when parked on the street or in an open parking lot :)

The area is way too small to generate any feasible amount. If I remember correctly you'd only be able to charge 15 miles per day in ideal conditions.
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