Tesla has stopped selling its premium solar roof tiles, nearly a decade after their launch. The company's solar roof webpage now redirects to its solar panel offerings, signaling a shift in its solar strategy.
The discontinuation of Tesla's solar roof product marks the end of a high-profile initiative that aimed to integrate solar energy generation more seamlessly into residential housing, highlighting challenges in scaling premium, aesthetically focused renewable energy solutions.
Tesla has discontinued its premium solar roof tiles, a product launched nearly a decade ago, signaling a significant shift in its solar energy strategy. The company's website now redirects its solar roof page to its offerings for traditional solar panels.
Sources indicate that Tesla has informed its network of certified third-party installers that solar roof tiles will no longer be available for order, with the product deemed not financially viable. This move formalizes a retreat that has been visible for some time, as Tesla stopped reporting solar roof deployment figures in early 2024 and had largely removed the product from its marketing.
Elon Musk unveiled the solar roof tiles in 2016, coinciding with Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity, a company run by his cousins. The product was marketed as a more attractive alternative to traditional solar panels, but industry estimates suggest Tesla fell far short of its 2021 target of 1,000 installations per week.
Tesla's solar strategy is now focused on traditional panels, manufactured at its Buffalo, New York factory. Despite the discontinuation of the solar roof, Musk maintains ambitious plans for solar, with Tesla filing for a $10.1 billion solar-cell factory outside Houston, Texas, expected to create 9,712 permanent jobs.