Tesla Solar Shingles

We've all caught drift of Elon Musk's recently launched solar shingles with the incredible curb-appeal and 'affordable' price tag. There's no denying that while Musk's solar solution is one of the best aesthetically, it has not yet arrived at a reasonable price point. The objective of this post is to briefly contrast Tesla solar against your traditional solar arrays. 

Materials costs have come a long way down in the last decade making solar affordable for most Canadian homeowners. While we expect Tesla's solar roof to do the same, it will forever be in the upper category of solar options for your home. This is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong with having options out there especially for an environmentally driven company like Tesla. But, home-owners need to know it is not 'just as affordable as a regular roof'! In this statement, Musk is referring to a 'regular roof' as a slate roof, which is often triple the cost of a asphalt roof. Compared to a slate roof, which will last forever, then yes, the production of power from the solar shingles make it a far more affordable roof for your home. For those who don't wish to spend $100k on a lifetime roof, Power Up Solar can help. At a fraction of the cost, we suggest you suggest a regular asphalt or metal roof, AND have panels installed on your roof that will out-perform Tesla's solar roof production for a fraction of the price.  

Forbes described it best: "there’s about as much market for Tesla’s new roof as there was for the $17,000 gold Apple Watch". This analogy is perfect (though it is not fact). Apple tried to put smart watch technology that was no better than its competition, into a gold band to compete with high end watching like Rolex and Breitling. Unfortunately, pairing technology with expensive and long-lasting durable products like gold does not work. Technology evolves far to quickly to be confined with luxury materials that are made to last a lifetime. In twenty years from now, when the Tesla Solar shingles are still looking great and holding strong, imagine where the solar industry will be? Apple learned this the hard way when not a single Gold Apple Watch sold as the tech in that watch will long outdated in just a few years from now. 

What Tesla is doing is awesome and positive for the solar industry. If anything, its putting solar on the map for a lot of people who wouldn't have found it interesting before. And thankfully, their motive to see an emissions free world is pure and genuine. They're marketing could be a little more accurate, but overall, it is a durable roof, and it does produce power. If you can afford this roof, we'd love to come over and see it in person! 

Clover, J. (n.d.). Apple Discontinues Gold Apple Watch Edition Models. Retrieved June 1, 2018, from https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/07/apple-discontinues-apple-watch-edition-gold/

Helman, C. (2017, May 19). Elon Musk's New Solar Roof Won't Save Tesla's Solar Business. Retrieved June 1, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2017/05/17/elon-musks-new-roof-for-rich-green-people-wont-save-teslas-solar-business/#3a5888ed6171

​Solar Roofing will be Cheaper than Regular Roofing. (2017, May 15). Retrieved June 1, 2018, from http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/engineering/solar-roofing-will-be-cheaper-than-regular-roofing.aspx