Tesla Discontinues Solar Roof Tiles, Deemed Not Viable
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Tesla has discontinued its Solar Roof tile product, telling certified third-party installers that only conventional solar panels will be supplied going forward; two sources told Electrek the company internally concluded the product was "not financially viable."
- Elon Musk unveiled the Solar Roof in October 2016 on a Desperate Housewives back lot to help pitch Tesla's roughly $2.6 billion SolarCity acquisition; litigation uncovered that they were not yet functioning solar products.
- Solar Roof prices ballooned far beyond the original ~$22/sq ft pitch, with one customer's contract reportedly jumping from ~$72,000 to ~$146,000 before installation, triggering a class-action lawsuit Tesla settled for $6 million in 2023.
- Musk's repeated target of 1,000 Solar Roofs per week was never reached; at peak, Tesla installed only 21-32 per week (per Wood Mackenzie), totaling roughly 3,000 systems across about seven years — more than 95% short of the goal.
- Tesla stopped breaking out Solar Roof deployment figures in early 2024, has removed the product from its Energy navigation menu, and redirected tesla.com/solarroof to tesla.com/solarpanels.
- Tesla has pivoted to conventional panels paired with Powerwall and talked up plans for large-scale US solar panel manufacturing rather than tiles.
Why it matters: Tesla's retreat from solar tiles leaves the integrated-solar-roof concept without its highest-profile backer, while homeowners who signed early contracts absorbed price hikes that triggered a $6 million class-action settlement. It formalizes a years-long fade: roughly 3,000 systems installed in seven years against a promised 1,000-per-week cadence.
Ask SkimNews
