Tesla has removed public references to its Solar Roof—a roof with built-in solar panels—from its website. The product page and support pages now redirect users to Tesla’s general section on solar energy, according to TechCrunch.
Two solar installers told the publication that their companies still offer the Solar Roof. However, one of them noted that availability would depend on the timeline of a specific project. This may indicate that Tesla is selling off its existing inventory of the systems.
The company had planned to install up to 1,000 Solar Roofs per week. However, as of 2022, after several years of refinements and changes to manufacturing processes, the installation rate stood at approximately 20 to 40 units per week.
From the start, Solar Roof was positioned as a premium product: solar modules were integrated into roofing tiles that mimicked clay tiles, terracotta, or slate. Tesla compared the cost of the system to that of conventional solar panels combined with a roof replacement. At the same time, some potential buyers reported installation estimates of $200,000.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
Conventional solar panels have become cheaper thanks to the mass production of standardized cells and modules. For the Solar Roof, Tesla had to use unique tiles and develop and purchase specialized manufacturing equipment. With sales lower than expected, the cost of this equipment per system increased.
There were also reports of deformation in parts of the roof without solar panels, melting of the roof underlayment, and the system generating less electricity than Tesla had claimed. TechCrunch notes that one possible reason for the lower performance could have been overheating: solar cells operate more efficiently at lower temperatures, whereas the ventilation gap in the Solar Roof was smaller than in conventional panels.
Other manufacturers, including GAF and Merlin Solar, continue to develop the integrated solar roof segment. Tesla, on the other hand, is steering customers toward traditional solar panels.
Read us on Telegram and Sends
Use of materials from the websites https://ua.news/ is permitted only if a reference (or, for online publications, a hyperlink) to UA.NEWS is included no later than the third paragraph.
Use of materials is permitted only upon receipt of written permission from the UA.NEWS editorial board and the mandatory placement of a direct hyperlink to the original publication https://ua.news/ in the first paragraph of the material, which must be open to indexing by search engines.
Materials marked with the “Advertisement” label are promotional and are published as advertisements. The editorial board may not share the views promoted therein. The editorial staff is not responsible for the facts and opinions published in advertising materials. In accordance with current Ukrainian legislation, the advertiser is responsible for the content of the advertisement.
Materials in the “Blogs” section represent the personal opinion of the blog author; the editorial staff may not share the author’s views.
Copyright infringement is prosecuted in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine and the norms of international law.
The online media outlet UA.NEWS serves only an audience aged 21 and older. Online media entity; media identifier – R40-05225.
LLC “NEWS FLASH INFORMATION AGENCY.” All rights reserved.
