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Tesla’s Musk adds solar roofs to his clean energy vision
Posted On Nov 02 2016
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“Global warming is a serious crisis and we need to do something about that”, company founder Elon Musk said during a news conference at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
The solar roof + storage will come from the newly branded Tesla Energy, as long as the merger of Tesla and SolarCity is approved by shareholders. The glass is transparent to solar from above, but appears opaque when viewed at an angle.
Tesla says that taking orders for the new solar tiles and Powerwall 2 will begin soon. During the event, Musk showed how durable the solar roof tiles are by dropping weight on different roof tiles.
Musk is the most significant investor in both Tesla and SolarCity, which is run by 2 of his first cousins.
That’s it for Drive Wire on October 31st, 2016. It seems he and his team at Tesla are taking the same approach on residential solar as they’ve taken on individual transportation. An electric vehicle, a Powerwall and a solar roof.
The line of new solar paneled roofing, produced by solar power company SolarCity, is meant to become part of a personal alternative energy ecosystem made up of Tesla products including solar roofs, batteries and electric cars, the company said.
After news about earnings and new solar panels for homes, Tesla’s shares managed to close the week flat at $200. If its new solar roof catches on, it’ll be able to sell customers batteries, which will be a key part to the future of electric power. A vote on the acquisition is due on 17 November.
However, Musk refrained from divulging any details about the price for the integrated solar roof or a price-per-square foot.
Regarding the rollout of the product, Musk said it would be next summer. And they look strikingly like old-fashioned roof tiles, coming in a four distinct styles: “Textured Glass Tile”, “Tuscan Glass Tile”, “Smooth Glass Tile” and “Slate Glass Tile”. Add in solar, and you can power indefinitely. That’s enough per charge to power everything in a four-bedroom house for a full day, according to Tesla.
