Tesla is testing new version of Solar Roof (v3.5) on employee’s homes

Tesla has come up with a new version of its Solar Roof, version 3.5, and it is now testing it on employee’s homes ahead of a wider launch.

When launching the solar roof, CEO Elon Musk presented it as a critical product to accelerate solar power deployment, as it opens up the market to people needing a new roof in the near future, all while delivering a compelling new product.

He said that he aimed for Tesla to produce 1,000 new solar roofs per week by the end of 2019. It was always clear that Tesla was far behind on that goal, but we didn’t know by how much until earlier this month.

The company never released data on its solar roof installations and always included them with its solar panel retrofits, which represent the vast majority of its solar power deployment.

Last month, Electrek obtained solar roof installations for the first time and confirmed that Tesla deployed 2.5 MW of solar roofs during the second quarter of 2022, or about 23 roofs per week. Furthermore, we also reported that Tesla had paused scheduling of solar roof installations in virtually all markets in the US, which is the only country where Tesla is installing solar roofs. Third-party roofing and solar companies are able to continue installations.

Now we learn that Tesla is aiming for its own solar roof installation to continue in the fourth quarter, and it is working on a new version in the meantime.

During its many delays, the solar roof went through many different iterations with Tesla Solar Roof v3 launching back in 2019. The company also added a new solar tile with more power and higher efficiency last year.

Tesla Solar Roof v3.5

Now sources familiar with the matter told Electrek that Tesla is working on Solar Roof v3.5, and it is currently deploying the updated solar product at employee homes for testing.

At this point, it’s unclear what is new with the updated version, but Tesla has been putting a focus on durability and ease of installation when it comes to the solar roof lately.

If testing goes well, Tesla is expected to introduce the new version of the Solar Roof when it restarts installation toward the end of the year.

It’s not clear when Tesla plans to officially launch the new solar roof v3.5, but it’s possible that we will learn more about the product tomorrow during Tesla’s Cyber Roundup

Electrek’s Take

Solar Roof is certainly one of those products that have never delivered on the level of hype that Tesla and especially Elon Musk put behind it.

The good news is that Tesla is now going back to doing pretty well with its solar panel business and as it works on the solar roof product, it can shift its installation crews to installing solar panels.

Hopefully, v3.5 is the boost that the solar roof needs to become the important solar product that Tesla told people it would be.