Tesla Completes First Few Solar Roof Installations
Tesla is making good on its promises with the completion of its first Solar Roof installs. The Solar Roof products from the energy company feature integrated solar panels made indistinguishable from the look of traditional roofing materials.
Elon Musk's energy company is fulfilling its promises, as Tesla wraps up the first Solar Roof projects on the heels of its first handovers of the Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle. Like the launch of the Model 3, the first recipients of the new alternative energy technology are Tesla employees, including Musk himself.
"I have them on my house, JB has them on his house," the Tesla chief said, referring to company co-founder and Chief Technology Officer J.B. Straubel.
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"This is version one. I think this roof is going to look really knock-out as we just keep iterating," Musk added, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Tesla offered its line of roof tiles, specially made to mimic traditional roofing materials like shingles and tiles, as part of an installation service available online. For a $1,000 deposit, a home can have their roof refurbished to include the new solar tiles that look like modern roofing materials but collect sunlight to supply power to their energy collection system.
The company has started taking pre-orders for the Solar Roof during the second quarter of the year, and the first installs were supposed to be in place by June. The company also offers a warranty for their roof equivalent to the lifetime of the house they were put on, "or infinity, whichever comes first," as quoted by Tech Crunch.
Production of the tiles continues as Tesla tries to cover demand for the Solar Roof preorders, in the meantime. While the first batch shipped from the company's solar plant in Fremont, California, Tesla has begun shifting production to the new Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York.
As inventory starts to keep up with the demand, Tesla plans to begin offering the Solar Roof in the United Kingdom, Australia, and more regions worldwide. New variants, including terra cotta and slate models of the Solar Roof in different colors, are also in the blueprints as reported by the company.
