A recent quote for a Tesla solar roof installation reveals the high cost of the technology. The cost of going green with Tesla, according to one customer quote, is $85,000.
According to a customer quote obtained by Electrek, a Tesla Solar Roof could be far more expensive than many had previously expected. The company has claimed to be working on the third version of the technology which it alleges will bring costs down, but as it stands, many will find it hard to justify the current price of the solar power product.
According to the quote, a 9.45 kW system on a 1,862 square foot roof will cost $64,634 if purchased from Tesla. Added to this is a charge of $10,050 for a Powerwall energy storage system, and another $10,630 for roof and site repairs. This adds up to a total of $85,314 for the entire system.
This puts the price of the solar panels at $35 per square foot, a large increase over the $21.85 price point previously promised by Tesla. The number of tiles needed for the home of the client in question was quite large but prices still seem extremely high. A blueprint of the customers home can be seen below:
Tesla claimed in a note to the customer that they would be eligible for a $15,727 federal tax credit and estimated that the value of the energy generated over the next 30 years would amount to $65,466. Based on this, they estimate the net cost of the system over 30 years to be $4,121. This math was disputed by Tesla critics on social media, who pointed out at a minimum that the customer would likely need to replace the Powerwall system multiple times over the life of the roof at a cost of $10,000 per system.
At a recent Tesla shareholder meeting, Elon Musk mentioned the elusive solar roof product that the company has talked about since 2016 but failed to implement in a widespread capacity. Musk said that the panels are being deployed in eight states but added that producing them is “quite a hard problem.” He claimed that the company is working on its third iteration of the tiles which he is “really excited about.” Musk added: “I’ve had a number of meetings with Drew (Baglino, Tesla’s VP of technology), where I’m like banging the table, [saying] ‘Damn it, we’ve got to achieve this.’”
Tesla may manage to finally produce the solar panels in a widespread capacity, whether anybody will purchase them at such high prices remains to be seen.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com