On Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the company’s solar roof panels would be ready for pre-order. In the afternoon of that day, Tesla and SolarCity executives announced in a press conference that the solar roof would be cheaper comparing to the installation a regular tile roof. The pre-orders of this high-tech roof require a $1,000 payment to secure a spot on the list.
Meet Tesla's Solar Roof
Musk first announced Tesla's Solar Roof project in October 2016, according to CNET. That time, the CEO promised a glass roofing tile with a similar physical appearance of traditional building materials. However, not like the common roofs, Tesla's solar roof would generate electricity for a specific place using the solar cell embedded in each tile.
Telsa also claimed that its Solar Roof project would have a similar cost to a standard roof but with the electricity. The Solar Roof will cost $21.85 per square foot of tile for a 3,000 square foot roof. In order to compete with the expenses for a regular non-solar roof, the firm said the Solar Roof would need to come just under $24.50. The company will also sell Solar Roof tiles without the photovoltaic cells embedded in them, which is said to be the costly elements. Those tiles will sell for $11 each while the active Solar Roof tiles will cost $42 each.
Tesla's Solar Roof Pre-Orders Start Today
Tesla is releasing the first two styles of the glass tiles, the "black glass smooth" and the textured" versions. Each product will come "with a warranty for the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first," Tesla said in a blog post. According to CNBC, the firm also created a "Solar Roof calculator" that enable customers to calculate the cost of an installation.
Tesla is now accepting online preorders for the available variants of the Solar Roof tiles, with the slate and Tuscan options becoming available later this year. As for now, customers can finance their orders with a loan, either personal or a home improvement loan. They can also use a home equity line of credit or a secondary mortgage.
