This brings back memories of slowly dying car alarms back in the 90s.
I probably come across as being more anti-solar roof than I am. Mostly just feel like this isn’t a feature I’d make a purchase decision on and wouldn’t likely pay too much for.
I was reading on the Tesla forums about just bringing a portable solar array for camping and it’s weirdly a lot more complicated than you’d think. Perhaps having it integrated would make it simpler, but it’s a lot trickier than just topping off a 12v battery with a solar array.
Interesting, I hadn't know that about Teslas. On a Prius you can mount a ~$50 12V solar trickle charger on your dashboard, possibly with some rewiring [1] to keep one of your 12v sockets live, and it's even easier on older trucks. I'd imagine that the smarter the car, the harder it is to make those kinds of modifications. Even so, an optional "solar package" that integrates cleanly with the dashboard (or roof) seems like it might have broad appeal.
And if your only goal is to use it as an excuse to talk to your friends about having solar panels in your car then a small panel makes even more sense -- you can talk almost as much about a small panel as a large one for a fraction of the cost.
I probably come across as being more anti-solar roof than I am. Mostly just feel like this isn’t a feature I’d make a purchase decision on and wouldn’t likely pay too much for.
I was reading on the Tesla forums about just bringing a portable solar array for camping and it’s weirdly a lot more complicated than you’d think. Perhaps having it integrated would make it simpler, but it’s a lot trickier than just topping off a 12v battery with a solar array.