Tesla axes its solar roof tile product line

Tesla discontinued its Solar Roof Tiles after concluding that they were not viable

Tesla has officially discontinued its Solar Roof Tile product line. The product has been removed from Tesla’s website and marketing, and third-party installers have reportedly been told they will no longer receive it.

According to Electrek, two sources close to the program say Tesla’s solar roof tiles are no longer available to order. The company will only supply conventional solar panels moving forward. One source said that Tesla has concluded internally that the product is not financially viable. Today, Tesla’s website lists only its standard Solar Panels, Powerwall, and Megapack products.

Tesla unveiled its Solar Roof Tile product in 2016, though it has since been confirmed that the products shown at its 2016 event were non-functional. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, claimed that the product would cost less than a new roof with conventional solar panels. In reality, the product was never that affordable. Tesla also failed to deliver on its promise of 1,000 installs per week.

Electrek claims that Tesla managed 21-32 installs per week at its peak, a mere 95% short of the company’s target. Wood Mackenzie data claims Tesla installed only around 3,000 solar roof systems over seven years. Over time, Tesla has shifted its focus to conventional solar systems.

Now, Tesla Roof Tiles will stand amongst many failed Tesla projects. Another project announced years before it was ready, and one that failed to deliver on its promises. Between Tesla axing its Solar Roof Tiles and its continued failure to deliver Full Self Driving on its vehicles, it is hard to imagine any of Tesla’s future projects achieving their lofty goals. Will the Tarafab succeed? Will we all be using Tesla Cybercabs and own Tesla Optimus robots in the future?

Join the discussion on Tesla discontinuing its solar roof tiles on the OC3D Forums.