Here’s a real Tesla Solar Roof quote and the price will shock you

Fred Lambert | Jun 14 2019 - 5:25 am PT

We got our hands on an actual Tesla Solar Roof quote sent to a potential customer and the price is shockingly high, but it could still make sense for some homeowners.

As we reported yesterday, Tesla is currently completing the third version of its Solar Roof, which they claim will bring the price down significantly.

In the meantime, solar roof deployment is limited and the price is quite expensive.

A reader sent Electrek an actual quote that Tesla submitted to him for his house in the Bay Area and it gives us our best look at the breakdown of the cost of a Tesla Solar Roof, all the accompanying hardware, and installation.

For a 9.45 kW system on a 1,862 square foot roof, Tesla is charging $64,634 for the solar roof, along with $10,050 for a Powerwall, and another $10,630 for roof and site repairs.

It adds up to a shocking total of $85,314 for the entire solar roof system and work.

The solar roof alone adds up to almost $35 per square foot, which is much higher than the $21.85 price Tesla first guided for the product.

However, the system quoted by Tesla for this particular customer featured a high number of roof tiles with solar cells:

Tesla’s solar roof systems can also be designed with a higher mix of tiles without solar cells in them.

As you can see, the roof also features several vents disturbing the layouts of the tiles and since Tesla’s goal with the solar roof is to improve the aesthetic of installing rooftop solar systems, they came up with a solution.

Tesla designed new custom fittings, vents, and skylights to mesh with the solar roof:

At $85,000, the whole project is extremely expensive, but Tesla argues that it makes sense financially.

In the quote, the company notes that the homeowner would have access to a $15,727 federal tax credit and they predict the value of the energy over 30 years (the period under warranty for power generation) at $65,466.

“Tesla Solar and energy storage products might be a great solution for your home or business and you can use our code (frederic5610) for a $250 award for a solar panel installation. However, we suggest getting 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.”

Based on that, they consider the net price of the system over 30 years to be $4,121.

Tesla includes a cost comparison with a solar panel system of equivalent capacity on top of a new premium roof:

At Tesla’s 2019 shareholder’s meeting earlier this week, Musk said Tesla is working on longevity testing for the new version of its solar roof tiles and that they are now installing the solar product in 8 states.

The CEO also said that he believes the price of the Solar Roof V3 could end up equivalent to a shingle roof plus electric bill, which would be significantly less expensive than this.

Musk said that they are starting “early trials” of the new versions of the Tesla Solar Roof tiles: