Tesla starts solar price matching, reducing the cost of solar — here’s how to benefit

Tesla is starting to offer price matching on its solar products — potentially reducing the entry cost.

Here’s how to take advantage of it.

Over the last year, Tesla has been trying to revamp its solar business.

Not just with the new solar roof products, but also with more traditional solar panels on existing roofs, which still represents most of Tesla’s solar business.

Last year, Tesla launched a new solar subscription under which homeowners can get a solar panel system installed at their home for no cost and no contract.

They only pay a monthly fee to access the solar power generated by the system to reduce their utility bill.

However, homeowners will always be better off buying their solar power systems in the long term.

As Tesla ramped down SolarCity’s solar installations, several other companies, like Sunrun and Vivint, have taken over the residential solar market with competitive prices.

In order to be competitive with those companies, Tesla is now offering a new price-matching policy.

Tesla wrote:

In order to fulfill our promise of providing you with the lowest priced solar, Tesla is offering a price match guarantee. Join us in accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy, all while obtaining the lowest priced solar panels, within a fast and simple installation process.

Here’s how to obtain a price match from Tesla Energy:

1. Place an order to compare prices
2. Email Tesla with a copy of your competitive proposal:
   • To: energyorder@tesla.com
   • Subject Line: Price Match Guarantee
   • Body: Reservation Number
   • Attach your competitive offer
3. Tesla will compare your proposal to the price of our comparable system size and inform you of eligibility

Solar prices

Solar prices can vary due to a bunch of different factors — mainly the quality of solar modules, the size of the system, and different market conditions.

For a 4kW system, which is Tesla’s smallest solar solution, Solar Reviews reports that the average price in the US is $3.72 per watt.

This goes down as the system gets bigger. For a 12kW solar system, the average price dips below $3 per watt.

Those prices will vary greatly in different markets. Here are the average prices in some of the biggest solar markets in the US:

For comparison, in California, Tesla lists a 7.56kW solar system for $19,500 or $2.58 per watt before incentives, and $14,430 after the federal tax credit.

Get a quote to compare Tesla solar prices

We always recommend getting several quotes from both major solar installers and local companies before moving ahead with a system. You can be surprised by smaller local installers sometimes.

UnderstandSolar is a great free service to link you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates for free.

Then you also need an official quote from Tesla and you can use our code (frederic5610) for a $100 award on your Tesla solar panel installation after activation of the system if you end up going forward with it. 

Electrek’s Take

I think this is a new piece of evidence showing that Tesla wants to significantly ramp up its solar installations.

They are going from significantly slowing down installations to focus on higher-gross margin systems to being willing to go down in price with price matching competitors.

It’s likely going to increase competition in the sector and drive prices even further down.

I wouldn’t necessarily go with Tesla solar even if they have the best prices, since there are other things at play, like the modules and inverters used in specific installations.

However, I really do like Tesla’s solar/energy user interface, which I think could be a differentiating factor for Tesla. Other companies who offer smart inverters have similar offerings, but I think Tesla’s UI is really cool.

Though you can also get it without a Tesla solar installation if you get a Powerwall, which are offered by other solar installers.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.