Tesla’s solar shingles may open doors to wealthy American suburbs, where aesthetics matter and visible solar panels are sometimes prohibited. The solar roof still comes with a considerable upfront price tag. In this case, a Tesla solar roof is not only more expensive upfront than a traditional roof—contradicting a claim Musk made last year—but it’s potentially more expensive upfront than a traditional roof with solar panels on top, too. That’s because a Tesla solar roof may require more square feet of active solar generation to satisfy the same energy needs as traditional solar panels. All told, Bromley figured, a traditional solar setup might be 30% cheaper than the Tesla roof.

Source: Mint May 11, 2017 20:03 UTC