Hat tip to daytrip for sending in this article announcing that Tesla is taking orders for their new solar roofing product:
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
With the solar roof tiles covering the entire house, they will be pitching it as a money-making solar plant. But $87,500 is double the cost of today’s panel systems – or more! Nice warranty though:
Made with tempered glass, Solar Roof tiles are more than three times stronger than standard roofing tiles. That’s why we offer the best warranty in the industry – the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first.
Doesn’t it need more math to make sense?
Since our house needs a roof no matter what, shouldn’t we subtract the cost of a regular roof from the price, to ascertain the real value of the solar roof?
$72k cost (either up front or in payments with interest I assume). To return $70k if all goes well over 30 years (best case scenario).
Terrible ROI
Since our house needs a roof no matter what, shouldn’t we subtract the cost of a regular roof from the price, to ascertain the real value of the solar roof?
You should, as should anyone replacing a roof, or building a new house. But if think your roof is fine, then the roof cost feels like zero.
I hope they addressed the reflection/glare issue; it can be pretty intense. I can imagine a sea of homes with full roofs giving off a laser-like glare to the homes above…. There was an array in Newport on a hill overlooking Balboa that was as bright as a penitentiary spotlight…
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/22/local/la-me-newport-green-house-20100622
Where’s the calculator from the screenshot? I don’t see it at the link.
Where’s the calculator from the screenshot?
It is where they ask for your address, and to get started:
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-10/tesla-s-solar-roof-is-finally-ready-for-you-to-buy
You’ll have to use some serious electricity to justify the cost of the roof. For the estimate above, you have to spend $391/month (yeah, not adjusted for inflation, but still) on electricity alone.
I think this only makes sense if you are building a new house or need to completely replace your roof … and you use your A/C all the time.
Seriously, is there anything Elon Musk does that does not include a windfall of taxpayer money going his direction? That guy is the master of the scamorama.