Tesla has discontinued its Solar Roof product, ending a nearly decade-long effort to combine solar power generation with conventional-looking roof tiles. The move comes as the company continues to invest in other parts of its energy business, including conventional solar panels and a planned large-scale solar manufacturing facility in Texas.
According to reporting published this week, Tesla has informed third-party installers that Solar Roof tiles will no longer be supplied and that the company will focus on standard solar panels instead. One source familiar with the program said Tesla determined that the Solar Roof was not financially viable.
Tesla Removes Solar Roof From Its Product Lineup
Tesla’s website now reflects the change. The former Solar Roof webpage redirects visitors to the company’s solar panels page, while Solar Roof has disappeared from Tesla’s Energy product navigation. The section now highlights Solar Panels, Powerwall and Megapack. Tesla’s support information also states that its removal and reinstallation service is available for solar panels but not for Solar Roof.
The product had already become less visible within Tesla’s business. The company stopped separately reporting Solar Roof deployment figures in its quarterly reports in early 2024, and the product had largely disappeared from its marketing activity.
Introduced in 2016, Solar Roof was designed to generate electricity while maintaining the appearance of a traditional roof. Tesla presented the concept as an alternative to conventional rooftop solar installations, with the solar technology built directly into the roofing material.
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High Costs Weakened the Solar Roof Proposition
Tesla initially promoted Solar Roof at a price of about $22 per square foot in 2016. However, installation costs later increased substantially for some customers.
In 2021, Tesla raised Solar Roof prices, including for some customers who had already signed contracts. The price increases led to a class-action lawsuit. A federal court later approved a settlement that established a $6.08 million settlement fund for affected customers. Court records show that the settlement covered customers who had been notified that they would have to pay higher prices for previously contracted Solar Roof installations.
One lawsuit involving the product highlighted the scale of some of the increases. A customer’s contracted price was reported to have risen from about $71,000 to approximately $146,000 after Tesla increased prices in 2021.
The product also struggled to reach the installation volumes originally envisioned by Tesla. By early 2023, Wood Mackenzie had counted about 3,000 Solar Roof installations in the United States, far below the target of 1,000 installations per week that Elon Musk had previously discussed.
Tesla Still Has Bigger Solar Plans
Ending Solar Roof does not mean Tesla is abandoning solar energy. The company is pursuing a major solar manufacturing project in Texas.
Tesla has filed plans for Project Crystal Sun, a proposed solar manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County. The project could cost as much as $10.1 billion and is expected to create around 9,700 full-time jobs. Tesla’s filings indicate that construction could begin this year, with completion targeted for 2028 and initial solar panels expected to come off the production line in 2029.
The planned facility suggests that Tesla’s solar strategy is increasingly centered on manufacturing conventional solar technology rather than integrating photovoltaic cells into roofing materials.
Musk’s Growing Focus on Energy for AI Infrastructure
The Solar Roof decision also comes as Elon Musk’s companies expand their computing and semiconductor ambitions, which require large amounts of electricity.
SpaceX has announced the Terafab project in Grimes County, Texas, a planned vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing facility. Texas officials said the first phase represents an investment of more than $16.8 billion and is expected to create 3,000 jobs.
Reports have also highlighted plans for energy infrastructure to support Musk’s expanding AI and computing operations. The Terafab project is expected to include power generation infrastructure alongside the semiconductor facility.
For Tesla, the end of Solar Roof marks a significant change from the company’s original vision for integrated solar roofing. While the solar tiles failed to achieve the scale once envisioned, Tesla continues to pursue solar panels, energy storage and large-scale solar manufacturing as part of its broader energy strategy.
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