
No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming - acjohnson55
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-31/no-one-saw-tesla-s-solar-roof-coming
======
philipkglass
I had serious misgivings when Tesla/SolarCity announced a switch of focus to
building-integrated PV. Historically, BIPV is where a PV technology goes to
die after it's failed to compete against incumbent module designs.

But these have _far_ better aesthetics than previous BIPV efforts. They look
better individually and they aren't clumped in one odd shiny patch on the roof
like past BIPV. Search for images of solar shingles and you'll see what I mean
about previous attempts.

On Friday's thread someone here mentioned the 30% tax credit for solar
installations. That made the financial proposition click for me. If the _whole
roof_ qualifies as a solar system, that's probably how they can make it
financially attractive. Unlike past module-atop-roof or even patch-of-roof-
BIPV offerings, you'd be able to get a tax credit for the whole shebang. Add
the usual solar motivation of reducing retail electricity purchases, plus
getting a roof that's more durable and attractive than the typical asphalt or
wood shingles of American roofs, and it looks like Tesla/SC may have a better
offering than competitors for new home builds in areas with lots of sun and
expensive electricity. It wouldn't take a whole lot of builds per year to soak
up all the capacity of their Buffalo factory.

Just a few days ago I was saying that I couldn't see how any of the solar
installation or manufacturing companies were going to build decent, defensible
profit margins because panels and installation services are so commoditized.
This could be the advantage that was missing: assuming decent patent coverage,
SC will be able to have a monopoly on these modules and their installation for
a long time to come.

~~~
tajen
But is it carbon-neutral now?

Let's remind the whole picture here: We want to come back to global greenhouse
gases emissions on 1990, because they were balanced by nature's absorption. It
often happens that the cost of building solar panels, transporting them to the
location, disposing them before their estimated time-to-live and getting rid
of all their chemicals emit more carbon than we save by using electricity from
the solar panels.

Another bias is: By making energy cheaper, does it encourage the use of said
energy, thereby offsetting the gains? "I've saved 20% of carbon emissions
compared to having a petrol-based SUV" tells another story than "I don't have
an SUV".

Greenhouse gas ecology is hard. The only way to avoid doing those analysis
would be to tax carbon emissions for the side effects they produce. Then we
would be able to just by the cheapest, which would also be the most energy-
efficient.

~~~
philipkglass
1) Anthropogenic CO2 emission rates in 1990 were greater than natural sinks
could offset.

2) Under any reasonable set of assumptions, rooftop solar PV has significantly
lower emissions per kWh than the cleanest fossil sources. In 2014 the IPCC
estimated a median value of 41 gCO2-e/kWh for rooftop PV generation vs. 490
for combined cycle natural gas generation.

3) Perhaps some of the CO2 avoidance will be squandered eventually as solar
becomes cheaper, thereby encouraging use of more electricity, but so far total
electricity use is uncorrelated or even anti-correlated with the presence of
rooftop solar generation. "Rooftop solar" and "energy-thrifty building
construction/operation" cluster together, so far, rather than displacing each
other.

~~~
redcap
2) Does that include the carbon cost of manufacturing, distributing and
installing the tiles?

~~~
tux1968
You have to manufacture, distribute, and install tar shingles too. Is there
some reason to think these costs would be higher for solar tech?

~~~
redcap
I presume there's a difference in manufacturing between these tiles and normal
tiles.

I also presume there's CO2 costs involved in manufacturing solar cells that
aren't present in normal shingles.

~~~
tux1968
Perhaps, although i'm quite skeptical about a difference in distribution and
installation. And even in the case of manufacturing, one must only consider
the delta between them rather than full cost of manufacturing solar.

------
wojcech
I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this is possibly the iphone
moment of Solarcity/Tesla: an old-ish idea, made _sexy_ and tasty to
consumers, together with technology reaching a tipping point(and also Musk
_again_ finding a way to maximally exploit government subsidies for clean
tech.)

The tesla car itself could count as well, but felt less "design driven" imo.
If this fails, everyone will call it obviously due to bad tech. If it
succeeds, I'd say it was because the tech was barely sufficient to keep up
with the excellent luster.

On a side note, I wonder whether or not the heavy government subsidies will be
forgotten in the lore of clean tech, just like silicon valley seems to have
forgotten the complete and utter reliance on government funding in it's
infancy(or possibly even today)

~~~
aerovistae
Another side note: it always annoys me when people insinuate that Musk using
government funds is a bad thing.

The government is literally just US....it's our money and a collection of
individuals from among us who we've appointed to handle the general
administration of us and the space we take up.

Why should American entrepreneurs, particularly ones doing such an outstanding
job of moving technology in a positive direction, not get our financial
support (a.k.a. the government's support)?

Who exactly is losing out when we support our own business initiatives with
our own money?

~~~
KKKKkkkk1
Please do not use the word we in this context. Half of my colleagues are
paying very hefty federal and state taxes but do not have the right to vote.

~~~
aerovistae
Why don't they have the right to vote? DC?

~~~
scaryspooky
Probably they are in the US on work visa's.

------
GregBuchholz
I'm curious if anyone has stats on what percentage of houses have an
unobstructed southern roof (for those in the Northern hemisphere)? My house
has seasonally adjusted nanotechnology self-replicating shade "panels" that
block considerable sunlight in the spring and summer months (MTBF: 100+
years). The big downside is cleaning up the unused panels in the autumn.

~~~
fweespeech
That has to be the geekiest explanation of a tree I've seen in awhile.

~~~
GregBuchholz
How about from a marketing perspective?

Solar 'Sorb(TM) -- The revolutionary shade technology which keeps you cooler
in the summer and warmer in winter. Innovative "cell" technology is at the
heart of the Solar 'Sorb system. Proprietary nanotechnology utilizes clean
solar energy, water and air to fill your yard with beautiful fractal-inspired
spires, that not only look great, but save you money. And there is no
complicated setup or programming. The Solar 'Sorb keeps track of the seasons
by monitoring the length of day, and adjusts it shade profile to match. Some
of the features included in each base model :

    
    
        Seasonally Adjusted Shade  
        Evaporative Cooling        
        Low Annual Maintenance     
        Provides shelter for fauna 
        Wind resistant             
        Limited Lifetime Warranty  
    

The Solar 'Sorb comes in an exciting array of styles, each specifically
adapted to your particular environment. And if you have a sweet tooth, you may
be interested in our food bearing models which produce tasty and nutritious
food packets for you and your family.

You can purchase fully functioning Solar 'Sorb units at one of our many
worldwide distributors, or the do-it-yourselfer can order our starter kit pods
direct from the factory. StarterPods(R) unfold gradually after installation
and provide shade generation precisely where you need it.

Solar 'Sorb is a strong advocates for the environment, and that's why all of
our products are certified "Green", and carbon neutral.

~~~
fweespeech
Lol. :)

------
jaggederest
I think it's interesting looking at it from the other end - as a homeowner, I
can tell you that roofing is an expensive proposition.

If this can be competitive with traditional roofing and have a longer life
expectancy, I'd buy in a heartbeat.

It has the potential to displace thousands of tons of asphalt shingles per
year with the equivalent of recyclable glass, which is pretty fantastic. The
embodied energy of production for the tar hydrocarbons in current roofing
materials are pretty nasty, and they don't just disappear when they wear out.

~~~
pfarnsworth
I need to replace my roof and I've been quoted almost $20k. If these are
within $5k of that price, then I will jump on it.

~~~
sbov
From my experience, the price of installing solar on 1/4th of your roof is
more expensive than installing a full, brand new roof. Beyond that, not all
parts of the roof are created equal for solar - some will generated much less
energy than others. E.g. a neighbor's tree blocks a fair portion of our roof
from the sun.

You can already get a $0 electricity bill without having full roof solar.

I can't see it being anything but a waste of money for the practical consumer.

~~~
sliverstorm
It's already obvious this isn't targeted at your garden variety practical
consumer. As the article points out, the demo'd roofing styles are all luxury
roofing.

------
olivermarks
'No one saw Tesla's solar roof coming...'

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle)

Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar panels or solar
modules designed to look like and function as conventional roofing materials,
such as asphalt shingle or slate, while also producing electricity. Solar
shingles are a type of solar energy solution known as building-integrated
photovoltaics (BIPV).

There are several varieties of solar shingles, including shingle-sized solid
panels that take the place of a number of conventional shingles in a strip,
semi-rigid designs containing several silicon solar cells that are sized more
like conventional shingles, and newer systems using various thin-film solar
cell technologies that match conventional shingles both in size and
flexibility. There are also products using a more traditional number of
silicon solar cells per panel reaching as much as 100 watts DC rating per
shingle.[1]

Solar shingles are manufactured by several companies[2] but the two main
manufacturers of solar roof shingles are Dow and CertainTeed.[3] Other active
companies in the US include SunTegra Solar Roof Systems,[4] and Atlantis
Energy Systems (asphalt and slate systems),[5]

Unisolar went bankrupt a few years ago....

~~~
whiskers
There is no claim that "solar shingles" are new, just that it wasn't what
people expected Tesla to be announcing. From the article... "Like previous
attempts at solar shingles..."

~~~
stormbrew
Also the joke is that they didn't notice that the buildings had solar
shingles. Literally people didn't see them.

------
sremani
Roof top solar is critical for electrification of transportation since more
demands would be placed on grid. SolarPV and EV go hand in hand. This product
addresses many of the objections about aesthetics of Solar. TSLA has solid
vision, hopefully they execute it and execute it well.

~~~
lutorm
_Home_ PV and EV doesn't go hand in hand for everyone that uses their EV to
commute to work, though. I guess that represents a significant fraction of the
vehicle park.

~~~
elihu
It might be better to say that home PV and EV and battery storage go hand-in-
hand (since that allows you to dump your surplus battery into your car at
night), which appears to be Tesla's strategy. It would help if the battery
storage were big enough to fully recharge an EV, but that's not strictly
necessary unless you do a lot of driving.

Solar panels on cars are another option. I used to think that was a bad idea,
considering that an electric vehicle uses vastly more power than solar panels
could ever hope to generate. Then I thought about my own driving patterns; On
a typical work day, I drive about three miles to work, park in the sun for 8
hours, and then drive three miles home. With an electric vehicle and a solar
panel on the roof, I might not even have to plug it in except on long trips.
Even if that wasn't true, if a solar panel could save me, say, 10 full charges
per year, it's probably worth a little extra weight and cost.

~~~
derekp7
I ran calculations recently on solar panels on electric cars. Taking Tesla's
numbers, I figure it about .3 kwh per mile. A car is 5 feet wide, there are
about 5 feet on the hood, 3 feet on the roof, and 2 feet on the trunk. So 50
sq feet, at 10 watts per sq foot, is 500 watts total. So 4 kwh per 8 hours,
gives you 13 miles range. Or more likely, about 10 miles, once you count
charging efficiencies.

------
myrandomcomment
My wife and I purchased a house in 2015 and remodel it. The roof is 25 years
old and needs to be replaced. We have patched it up and have been holding off
because I knew this was coming. Everything in the house is LED and Engerystar,
etc. The 2 big power items are the hot tub and the heated floor in the
bathroom. My power bill in my area has 3 levels and the 1st level is not
enough for any reasonable usage. With the fully efficient house, removing the
hot tub and heat floor I am still pushed to the 3 level of pricing which make
my bill $300 per month. This as my new roof + the power wall is a no brainer
for me. Where do I sign up ;)

------
whiskers
This appears to be a great implementation of an idea that's been kicking
around a while. I love the detail of engineering that's gone into this and I
really hope the numbers stack up to make it viable.

It's the first Tesla product where I've thought to myself "wow, I really want
that" and I hope that I'll have a roof like this at some point. However I
remain skeptical that the efficiency when taking into account to the
manufacturing inputs and compared to a standard roof solar install will make
sense.

I do think it's incredibly important to make technologies superficially
acceptable to gain mass adoption. That's where I believe this stands above the
alternatives, let's hope it pans out.

Disclaimer: I'm super excited about SpaceX (well, space in general), I'm not
all that bothered about the Tesla car range, though I hope they release
something I like at some point.

~~~
compute_me
Let's hope that this was a genuine iPhone 1 moment! :)

------
JoelBennett
I'm curious - I still haven't seen any details on how these are installed. How
are things wired - does the wiring run under the shingles themselves? Also,
how does it work with odd sized/shaped roofs - e.g.: something that isn't
exactly a multiple of 1/2 a shingle?

~~~
erikpukinskis
There are probably electrified tracks which are screwed down onto the rafters,
similar to the way wooden risers* are put down for clay tiles to attach to.
The tiles attach using metal clips or nails. SolarCity acquired Zep Solar a
while back, who designed quick installation solar mounting systems. I assume
they're using that team to design something fully integrated and fast to
install. You'll probably just snap the tiles onto the rails after they are
screwed (bolted?) down. The tracks would just plug into each other like
Christmas lights.

They said they're producing plain tiles without panels inside for edge pieces
and north/east/west roof faces.

* [http://www.topnotchgenconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/20...](http://www.topnotchgenconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/clay-tile-2.jpg)

------
hnnicker
When adding traditional PV panels to my house a few years ago, I talked to the
designer about PV shingles. He said the problem is that PVs are black and get
hot in the sun. Traditional panels are raised a few inches above the roof with
a gap that allows air flow (stack effect) to cool the panel. Also, the panel
shades the roof, keeping the attic cooler (less A/C). With shingles, when they
get hot, the attic gets hot (more A/C).

------
lifeisstillgood
That's brilliant. It fixes that huge objection we all have to solar on our
houses - and it is not the product itself but that it is a innovative solution
to a problem "everyone" has looked at and said "nah I don't want that rubbish
on my roof" and nearly turned it on its head

It's just one more example of why discounting Elon might be a bad idea.

If only I had bought tesla a few years ago ...

~~~
lutorm
_nah I don 't want that rubbish on my roof_

I literally haven't seen my panels since the last time I went up on the roof.
Granted, this depends a lot on how steep your roof is, but the _appearance_ of
the panels did really not go into our decision to install them.

~~~
icefox
Had a door to door solar salesman not notice my panels, that is how little
people actually look at your roof.

~~~
lutorm
That's pretty hilarious.

------
lxmorj
I wonder - if you run current through these when they're covered with snow,
will they heat up and melt it away?

~~~
dimfeld
Musk recently posted to Twitter about using dedicated heating elements in the
tiles for this purpose:
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/792218248917811204](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/792218248917811204)

------
robterrell
Side topic, but I wonder if there's a pivot point coming where household
appliances could be offered in DC versions. It would be great to avoid the
inverter efficiency loss / point of failure. Could there be a standard DC
interior wiring system with line voltage for the fridge / dishwasher / laundry
machines and let's say LED lights, phone chargers, etc? The need for AC power
is just an artifact of long transmission distances, right?

~~~
Filligree
High-voltage DC is actually more efficient for long-distance transport, and
makes it easier to interconnect grids. Efficiency is not why we use AC.
Installation cost and history is, because you need converters everywhere you
connect it to an AC grid.

Up until recently a lot of standard pieces of equipment weren't practical for
HVDC lines. Electrical breakers, for instance: They existed, but tended to
have short lifespans. That's because DC lines never go to zero power, whereas
AC lines do so a hundred times per second.

Modern technology has changed that. The equipment is still more expensive, but
that would be made up for by the reduced transmission losses... if we were
starting from scratch. We're not.

------
austincheney
Hope it is insured against golf ball sized hail. If so people in Texas will
buy this in droves just for the durability. In not it will never sell in
Texas.

~~~
ne0n
Did you see the announcement video? They dropped a kettlebell on it and all it
got was a small crack.

~~~
makomk
Now think about what will happen after water makes its way into that crack and
goes through a few hundred freeze-thaw cycles.

~~~
TheGRS
So this technology is useless because years of wear and tear will make you
need to replace the roof eventually? Isn't that pretty normal for any house?

~~~
pwinnski
Texas resident here. There's a guy who's been riding a Segway around my
neighborhood looking for weather damage from recent storms, and his pitch to
homeowners is that they don't need to replace the _entire_ roof, just the
section where things are--or will soon be--leaking.

It's probably more efficient to replace the entire roof at once, and insurers
would almost certainly prefer the entire roof to be the same age, but asphalt
does have some advantages for situations in which nearly every storm tears up
just a few shingles.

------
speby
This is really nice to see an innovation on something "old but new again" like
a roof. Roofs are not exactly the industry/product space we see a lot of
innovation in lately. The typical asphalt/cedar/steel/terracotta roofs we know
of today have mostly been serving the needs of homeowners reasonably well for
a very long time.

Tying to beat those materials out on functionality, cost, reliability, and
longevity is a tall order, to be sure. Mixing in the ability to grab the sun's
energy and use it to power your home and mechanicals and devices is a
compelling option. But because electricity is electricity is electricity (To
most people) the economics of this are going to be absolutely key.

Whereas the iPhone really did bring significant usability innovations to
people's lives, as in the ability to do new and useful things that were
previously harder or more annoying in the past, this type of roof doesn't
necessarily provide more functionality. Though the heated roof certainly could
be useful in cold climates. But again, I think that the economics are going to
be very critical to seeing wider adoption for this.

------
prewett
Pet peeve: meaningless projections into the far future. The "battery prices
keep tumbling" chart is a complete fiction. They took two data points and
extrapolated a smooth e^-x function, which portrays a untruthful appearance of
accuracy. Two points fit whatever curve you want to fit. Including this graph
is worse than having nothing.

Question: how would I complain to Bloomberg about this?

~~~
erikpukinskis
The range on the graph isn't necessarily the entirety of the data used for the
model.

------
patkai
I think I understand what Musk is doing, but I need to ask: what is everybody
else doing? Soon all innovation will be Tesla/ _

------
ZeroGravitas
There's some new houses being built near me that were designed from the start
to have solar panels built into the roof. The panels are inset so they roughly
along with the tiles around them and the panels themselves appear black so
blend in color-wise too.

You can see the panels but they're not actively ugly, which seems a good
compromise. This seems like more a Tesla level solution, where you're paying a
premium but it's better than a normal roof. The ones near me are the GM Bolt
solution, where it's about as aesthetically pleasing as any other generic home
and are priced accordingly. It's probably good to have solutions at multiple
price points though.

------
intrasight
What I find most clever about these roof panels is that is will likely silence
a lot of HOA critics. While more and more states are considering "solar
rights" laws, it is still better for all involved not to have to fight that
battle.

~~~
jonstewart
I live in a historic preservation district, with a south-sloping roof. I'm not
permitted to put up solar panels because they'd be visible from the street,
but these have a chance of getting past the historic preservation authorities.
That would be fantastic.

------
patrickg_zill
Asphalt shingles need to be replaced, depending on climate and other factors
that cause them to degrade, every 10(?) to 20 years.

Thus at least 5% of the total roofing market in existing residential houses,
is a potential customer each year.

~~~
majewsky
Assuming that everyone uses asphalt shingles, which is definitely not the
case. For example, the German Wikipedia article for asphalt shingles describes
them as "a typical GDR roofing". Germans tend to prefer clay/ceramic tiles on
their homes, which can easily last 50 years and more.

~~~
patrickg_zill
The asphalt shingles are very popular in the USA, which is what I assumed
their first market would be, since contractors apparently have to be trained
in their installation.

~~~
majewsky
That seems likely. I just wanted to point out that the market looks quite
different in other countries.

------
Udik
I'm curious. From a global warming + CO2 perspective (and total costs, maybe),
are we better off:

\- by making mirror roofs that bounce as much light as possible back towards
the sky (therefore not trapping heat, and reducing the need for A/C in the
summer);

\- or by using heat-trapping solar roofs that produce electricity but act as
heat-sinks and require more A/C usage in the summer?

And what about shingles that go from mirror to black from summer to winter, to
decrease the need of winter heating as well as summer A/C?

What if we take in account the amount of CO2 needed to manufacture the solar
roof?

------
ZeroGravitas
Is there a solution where you just use existing panels as giant tiles instead
of putting them on top of an existing roof? I can imagine say a carport, which
is tilted so that you don't really see what it's made from (though I've seen
relatively cool looking solar panels anyway). Might work on modern new builds
too. Seems like there would be a market for that a well as these "fake" tiles
that seem sized based on the traditional materials.

------
brownbat
Elon develops solar and rocket tech with a company named after an inventor
known for wireless power transmission.

Alright, fine, how long until Tesla launches satellite power systems?

------
davidklemke
It will be interesting to see how it competes against more traditional solar
systems. Right now I can get a 10KW system, with an inverter and installation,
all for AUD$9000. If Tesla could be competitive at that price point, both in
terms of raw cost and the capacity of the system installed, then I'd be all
over it. Otherwise I might just go the regular route as not many people look
at my roof.

Heck I barely do!

------
cybernytrix
This is an awesome product and a big disruptor. Has anyone done the math on
the revenues and profitability for Tesla? On the one hand it will sell for
more than the typical 10-20K roof job. But then it is supposed to last
50years. What are the chances that Tesla will even be around in 50years?

~~~
erikpukinskis
The way SolarCity works, you don't own the panels SolarCity does. So
ostensibly you would finance the roof and then pay a locked in price per kWh
which would be recurring revenue for Tesla even after the roof is paid off.

------
maximilianburke
I would really like something like this, however the roof of my house has a
really shallow pitch which makes it unsuitable for tiled roofs, be it glass
(solar), ceramic, or asphalt.

I guess panels are still an option, though it would be nice to never worry
about the roof again :)

~~~
jaggederest
A well made flat roof (for your low pitch) should last close to 50 years.
They're commonly more expensive but much more durable than pitched roofing.

I'd probably consult with the solar folks before getting your roof redone
though. You'll probably save money if you make sure the roofers and the solar
installers are coordinating correctly before either goes to work.

------
smoyer
If the solar shingles last far longer than my current shingles (which actually
need to be replaced soon), what about the degradation of the solar cells
themselves? Traditional PV panels degrade and have to be replaced sooner than
many roofing materials.

~~~
philipkglass
There are a lot of different degradation mechanisms that affect silicon based
PV modules.

[http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/pvrw2010_wohlgemuth_s...](http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/pvrw2010_wohlgemuth_silicon.pdf)

Most typical failures are thermomechanical fatigue and chemical breakdown of
encapsulant and backsheet materials. Musk said that these are made of quartz
(vitreous silica?) which has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion and
should reduce thermomechanical fatigue on connections. By all appearances
these are glass on both sides, no backsheet polymer layer, hence no backsheet
breakdown possible. These small modules are going to be more robust against
mechanical damage than modules with larger surface areas.

Both Silevo and Panasonic* base their cell technology on n-type
monocrystalline silicon, which exhibits negligible light induced degradation
over time (an optoelectronic effect which can gradually reduce efficiency of
more common p-type cells). The glass-all-around design also eliminates the
chances of potential induced degradation. The median degradation rate for
crystalline silicon PV modules as a group is only 0.5% per year (meaning 86%
of original rated output after 30 years) and these modules look like they can
achieve significantly lower degradation rates than that. Poor execution can
ruin any concept, of course, but these really look like they could work for
several decades.

*SolarCity acquired PV startup Silevo and originally intended to ramp the technology up to gigawatt manufacturing scale in a new factory in Buffalo, NY. More recently they've stated that Panasonic will run the Buffalo factory and the cell tech will be some kind of blend between Panasonic and Silevo; both companies' cell technology are based on heterojunction cell designs on n-type monocrystalline silicon substrates.

~~~
igravious
Thanks for the informative comment. Tesla/SolarCity and Panasonic seem to be
increasingly joined at the hip, don't they? That's be some merger. Who'd
swallow who?

------
awqrre
To me, the solar roof is the most interesting project coming out of Tesla so
far... and of course it combines nicely with their other products. But when
will it be available and for how much? I need to replace my roof soon.

------
Animats
Huh? Solar shingles have been around since 2005. Dow and CertainTeed Products
are the big makers. Here's a nice example of a house with a solar shingle
roof.[1]

There's been an aesthetic problem with mixing solar and non-solar shingles,
because the colors didn't quite match. But that was mostly because solar
shingles were a retrofit, not original equipment, and not an entire roof
replacement.

[1] [http://texastinyhomes.com/integrated-
solar/](http://texastinyhomes.com/integrated-solar/)

~~~
dagw
OT. But I find it amusing that a "tiny home" in Texas is the same size as a
normal home in most other places.

~~~
jmiserez
And the same size as a large or multifamily house in Europe.

------
walrus01
Nobody expects the spanish tiled roof inquisition!

------
jlebrech
it's more like the manufacturing process is what makes this product unique,
not the product itself.

------
gwbas1c
You've got to be kidding!!! Just look at those ugly solar panels on roofs, and
it becomes obvious that someone is going to make solar shingles.

I've been joking with my family that someone will come out with solar shingles
in the next few years.

Obvious!

------
atmosx
I wonder if this is a good time to buy solar city stock.

------
OliverJones
"No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming"

Let's rephrase that headline. "No one to whom a lazy journalist named Tom
Randall spoke saw Tesla's Solar Roof Coming."

~~~
erikpukinskis
Everyone knew it was going to be a solar roof. Musk said so. What no one
predicted was that what they actually introduced, which is roof tiles
indistinguishable from slate or terracotta.

The headline is about the specific Tesla Solar Roof, not the general idea of a
Tesla solar roof.

