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Tesla is not delaying its solar roof launch – it’s still coming this summer

We received a lot of messages over the weekend about “Tesla delaying the solar roof”. It seems to be originating from an article by Business Insider titled: “Tesla just delayed the roll-out of its solar roof” based on comments made by Elon Musk at TED last Friday, but his comment was misinterpreted by the publication.

Tesla is still planning to launch the first solar roof tiles this summer and the rollout hasn’t changed.

Musk only said that 2 of the 4 types of solar roof tiles will be launched in 2017 and Business Insider interpreted that as a delay, but it has been the plan for the solar roof production since it was announced last year.

When Tesla unveiled the solar roof concept in November 2016, they had 4 different types of tiles based on current roof styles and they said that they will start production of the first one in Summer 2017 and then release another one every few months.

It means that at least one or two of the styles would have been released in 2018. Therefore, the plans haven’t changed. The only question is which 2 of the 4 tiles will be released first. Here are the 4 styles:

Smooth glass tile roof 

Tuscan glass tile roof 

Slate glass tile roof 

Textured glass tile roof 

Sources familiar with the program told Electrek that Tesla plans to open orders for the first 2 tiles in the next few weeks for installation in the next 2 to 3 months in the US. We should learn more this week.

Both Panasonic and Tesla’s manufacturing team, partly from SolarCity’s integration, have been ramping up work at Buffalo factory, now known as ‘Gigafactory 2’, where they will manufacture the solar roof tiles.

Pricing and installation information will follow and expectations are high, especially since Elon Musk said that he sees the potential for Tesla’s solar roof to cost less than a regular roof – even before energy production.

Of course, the styles of roofs that the solar tiles are replacing are already some of the most expensive types of roofs. So people should probably manage their expectations. Let us know your best guess in the comment section below.

Tesla’s new residential solar and energy storage solutions are quite innovative. You can visit Tesla’s website if you wish to take your place in line for when they become available, but solar and energy storage prices are highly dependent on your market (electricity cost, gov incentives, etc.) and your property. We suggest to get quotes from more than one installer to make sure you get the best energy solution for your place. UnderstandSolar is a great free service to link you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates for free.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

Fred is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at Electrek.

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