Tesla says solar roof production has started

Tesla says solar roof production has started in Buffalo

According to Reuters, Tesla Inc said on January 9th, 2017 that it began manufacturing its premium solar roof tiles at the company’s Buffalo, New York factory last month and has started surveying the homes of customers who made a deposit of $1,000 to reserve the product last year.

It sounds like long awaiting news, and many people impatiently waiting for the Tesla’s declaration to start solar roof tiles production to become reality.

The Tesla and SolarCity solar roof is a complete roof that is beautiful, durable and brings renewable electricity production to any home or business. When Tesla and SolarCity embarked to design and engineer the solar roof together, the goal was to create the most beautiful and efficient roof ever – one that would make homes look better while reducing the cost of electricity.

The solar roof consists of uniquely designed glass tiles that complement the aesthetics of any home, embedded with the highest efficiency photovoltaic cells. It is infinitely 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 will seamlessly and beautifully supply renewable energy to homes, battery storage systems and back into the grid creating savings for owners. When combined with Tesla Powerwall, the solar roof can power an entire home with 100% renewable energy.

The solar roof is offered in four styles – Textured Glass Tile, Slate Glass Tile, Tuscan Glass Tile, and Smooth Glass Tile – so could be used in a variety of architectural styles.

More than a dozen Tesla employees, including Musk and Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel, had the solar roofs installed on their homes last year as part of an initial pilot program.

Tesla started taking orders for the solar roof tiles in May by asking homeowners to put down a $1,000 deposit via its web site. Tesla would not disclose how many reservations it had received for the solar roof. The product will be installed on some customer rooftops in the coming months.

Sources: reuters.com, tesla.com, elresa.se.