Tesla Solar Roof Worth It?

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// Tesla Solar Roof
Solar Roof is a complete roof that is beautiful, durable and brings renewable electricity production to any home. The goal was to create a roof that would make homes look better while reducing the cost of electricity.

Solar Roof consists of uniquely designed and extremely durable glass tiles that complement the aesthetics of any home. It is customizable for a variety of different home styles, each uniquely engineered so that the photovoltaic cells are invisible. Customers can choose which sections of their roof will contain the hidden solar technology while still having the entire roof look the same. These new roofs seamlessly supply renewable energy to homes, battery storage systems and back into the grid, creating savings for owners. When paired with Powerwall, Tesla’s home battery, Solar Roof can power an entire home with 100% renewable energy.

Solar Roof is offered in four beautiful styles – Textured Glass Tile, Slate Glass Tile, Tuscan Glass Tile, and Smooth Glass Tile – to complement a variety of architectural styles.

// What is Tesla Powerwall?
Introduced in October 2016, Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to enable self-consumption of solar power, emergency backup, time-based control and other grid service applications. The current design is the second generation of Powerwall, after the first version was launched in 2015.

Powerwall has 13.5 kWh of useable capacity and consists of a lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system, an integrated inverter and software that intelligently dispatches electricity when it’s needed most. The unit mounts seamlessly on a wall or on the ground, indoors or outdoors, and is integrated with the grid to export excess energy, maximizing the opportunity for economic benefit.

[smittyjohnson]

Dear wealthy people, please buy this. I'd love the cost to go down so the rest of us can buy it eventually. We need you lol

[mattlth]

I purchased my 20-panel, 6.5 kWp system just a few months before Tesla revealed the Solar Roof in 2016. I initially felt like I should have waited, especially since I desperately needed a new roof. But 20.2 MWhs later, I’m really glad I bought my system when I did rather than waiting...because I’d still be waiting. Plus, I added 12 additional panels last year knowing I’d need more power to charge my Model 3 and two Powerwall 2s. That boosted my system to 10.25 kWp. Scalability is a big advantage of traditional panels. While I’m rooting for the Solar Roof, I feel we’re still a few years away from making it a mainstream choice vs. panels.

[grgggfb]

This is the first video of yours I have disliked. It is disingenuous to give a review on a product while at the same time taking money from their competitor.


Bias exemplified here 4:40 - You used the new roof cost of $8000 which is wrong, that $8000 number was for a 1500sqft home (2:04), not a 3000sqft home. So that decreases the difference by 8k making the Tesla solar roof more viable.


This is not to mention that no one who can afford a 3000sqft house in California would ever ruin the aesthetic of their house with a cheap roll-on asphalt roof. The better comparison would be the slate tile shingles which are $30-40k for a 3000sqft home. This would make the Tesla solar roof $5000-15000 CHEAPER than the traditional solar panels on a new roof.

[cusman]

Been 99-100% self-powered since I got Solar Panels and Powerwall installed from Tesla Energy. This covers everything including charging my Model 3 because I can charge car during peak sun hours and is also earning $3-5 in energy credits. The only energy costs not covered is whatever my home still uses natural gas for (heating during winter months, water heater, dryer, and cooking). The Geothermal solution from Dandelion might help remove heating using natural gas during winter months and maybe also helps lower electricity usage during spring-through-fall months to keep home cool. Definitely something I will look into whenever it is time to replace either my central heating or cooling systems (not for another 7-10 years).

[ryccoh]

You failed to consider that the solar roof is supposed to last "forever" while a regular roof has to be replaced I think every 15 years. I would've liked to have seen that taken into account

[elyakimlev]

04:30 You say $5 per square foot for a 3, 000 foot roof. That's $15, 000 not $8, 000. So that's a 25% premium, not 33%.

[MJ-zogb]

As few more things:
1. An asphalt roof won’t last as long as the tile roof so you are comparing different products.
2. The tile roof looks better and will increase the value of your home.
3. If The sun falls primarily on the front of your house you might not want solar panels seen. They often don’t look as good as the tesla solar panels advertisements.
4. It is still at the early adopter pricing and will likely fall.

[TillDerWilly]

I mean, this IS a premium product. So comparing costs to an average asphalt roof seems a bit wrong. When compared to other more premium materials (20k instead of 8k), Tesla roof is not THAT much more expensive. Plus, should this really be more durable, you could go longer without having to pay for the next new roof.

[andyfeimsternfei]

I don't think its accurate to compare a Tesla roof to cheap asphalt shingles. Tesla's system is a tile roof and should be compared to similar roof, plus you get the electricity bonus. Plus even 40-year asphalt shingles rarely last 15 to 20 years. Slate and tile roof last over a century.

[kenbob]

Your analysis (option 2) doesn't account for the fact that an asphalt roof will likely need to be replaced after 15 years, while Tesla's is expected to last for 30 years. Instead of a 33% premium, the Tesla roof might only be a 10-12% premium. I'd pay an extra 10% for a much nicer roof aesthetic. 

Plus, even if the solar cells in the tiles fail after 30 years, the tiles themselves may last longer. So after 30 years you still may have a durable roof.

[AmosOfSynhome]

You didn't factor lifespan into it. Or did I miss that. Tesla Solar roof amortizes over roughly etermity while ashvault rooves amortize over as little as 15 years.

[Marklek]

I think the Tesla tiles have their own aesthetic appeal for those that don't mind paying an Apple Tax for something techy-cool looking. Hopefully for Tesla some economies of scale will kick in.

[matthewspencer]

A lot of people who choose a tile roof have already shown they are willing to pay a premium for aesthetics.

If you're wanting to pay extra for a tile roof and would like solar; you don't have a good option at the moment. You could do both, but paying a premium for tiles just to cover them up with a panel doesn't make sense.

I don't think Solar/Batteries are truly about cost savings for most people. For example I'd love to know how many solar/power-wall buyers pay for a 2nd power wall when they could cover more than say 70% of their daily usage with just one.

[DrOpossum]

I personally dont mind having visible Solar Power on my roof, but for those who do it seems to be a good alternative. Maybe, as prices drop, it will become way more efficient then traditional roofs - that would be great!

[XavierXonora]

Uhhh nobody is putting an asphalt roof on a 3000 sqft house, especialy not for the price of 1500 sqft. The Tesla roof becomes extremely competitive when you look at the more premium roof options, especially when you consider that adding solar panels _covers up_ the expensive tiles you paid for...

[jessymoser]

Kinda seems like you sold out Tesla for money from a rival company... I mean I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like.

[ahmedalshaikh]

I beleive it's better to have normal solar panels instead of hidden ones as you can use the power gained to power up you whole house and the tesla for even cheaper

[thoughtpolease]

should probably have compared to more expensive roofing options, and also factor in lifespan.

[gelisob]

But why was there no comparison with tile roof prices? In case one was supposed to put on new normal tiles anyway.. ? In that case the difference comes quite close or what, but one procures 0kwh of electricity per year..

[rogerdale]

I live in Queensland Australia and have had solar since 2010 and have never paid an electricity bill and have several cheque's back from my electric company, invested AUD$8, 000 for a 4.3 kilowatt system and love it and well they are panels but i do not care as financially it's great for me, since then i devised a way for renters to have a portable solar system for there back yard