Tesla’s Solar Roofs Might Be Even Cheaper Than Expected

Austen Allred, an executive at San Francisco-based startup LendUp, wrote to Musk on Twitter to say he “put 100 per cent of his net worth” into Tesla, adding: “Don’t even care if I lose it all”.

The takeover will expand the electric vehicle maker’s clean energy business. Musk is the chairman and largest shareholder of both companies. On Thursday after the shareholder vote, Musk said that Tesla aims to get the cost of its solar roof down to the same price as installing a normal roof.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Tesla – SolarCity merger recently and it’s pretty much a done deal now, after getting shareholder approval at last.

However, there are concerns about execution of Elon Musk’s ambitious plans.

SolarCity’s stock fell 60% this year as it struggled to boost demand for commercial solar panel installations and continued to burn through cash.

“Tesla’s shareholders have overwhelmingly approved our acquisition of SolarCity”, the electric automaker said in a statement.

A few weeks ago, Elon Musk unveiled a new product: solar shingles, created to replace a traditional roof and generate electricity at the same time. “We look forward to showing the world what Tesla and SolarCity can achieve together”. The roof is made up of durable textured glass tiles. Meanwhile, considering that Musk has already said that Tesla will not be raising any funds this year, it is likely that the combined entity that comes out of the merger will move to raise capital next year.

Earlier this month, he said SolarCity – the largest home solar panel installer in the USA – could add $1 billion in revenue to the combined company next year and could add $500 million in cash to Tesla’s coffers over three years.

Neither company has been sustainably profitable, although Tesla posted a profit last quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate that SolarCity is on track to report $711 million in revenue in 2016.

Now, however, Tesla and SolarCity have only to contend with market demand. SolarCity didn’t disclose the percentage of its shareholders voting. Well, homeowners may have a better solution on the horizon that not only costs less but also saves them money over time, according to Bloomberg.