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You got a $12K quote for tile? How long is the warranty? Remember that the 80K quote includes solar, so you'd have to add a standard solar install of the same K

You got a $12K quote for tile? How long is the warranty? Remember that the 80K quote includes solar, so you'd have to add a standard solar install of the same KW capacity to your initial quote to really compare apples to apples. You'll probably still pay a premium to go with Tesla, but the no-profile solar integration and lifetime warranty really look attractive. Some people are probably willing to pay for it, similar to people willing to pay a premium for the cars.

maxerickson 9y ago
It's totally fair to just balk at the price. Someone that doesn't install solar can sell the home without worrying about recovering that cost.
heisenbit 9y ago
Considering how long Tesla has been in existence and how financially leveraged Tesla is I would take discount warranty value (lifetime of house or infinity whatever comes first). Can't project finances much more than 10 years max. At the moment cost of capital is low but that may well change in that time-frame. Things have to make sense in a decade or so also considering that this new technology that is obsoleted by incremental innovation.
- 65827 9y ago
  Yeah there's a pretty legitimate possibility of Tesla/SolarCity collapsing if their stock had a long bad run, don't think your warranty is worth much at the back of the line in bankruptcy court.
- ProAm 9y ago
  It's definitely the lifetime of Tesla and not your house, roof, or owner.
Fezzik 9y ago
It's not really a lifetime warranty though. If you click through to the Tesla purchasing page, there is (only) a 30 years Power Warranty and Weatherization Warranty... which in my mind renders calling it a lifetime warranty sort of silly, as the purpose of the shingles (power generation) is not covered by the lifetime portion of the warranty. 30 years still seems like a significant warranty for a product like this though.
- vkou 9y ago
  The odds that Tesla will be around and willing to honor their warranty 25 years from now are also nowhere near 100%. Also, if you read the fine print, you will notice that the warranty will not cover the most frequent cause of roof problems - leaks in the seams. The same can be said for your local fly-by-night roofer, but it sounds like you can buy two roofs for the price of a SolarRoof. Also, another thing to be concerned about is whether or not you're going to be stuck in the middle of a pass-the-blame around football match between Tesla, and their subcontractors. (I guarantee you that the people installing your roof will not be Tesla employees.) In roofs, installation mistakes can cost you dearly - they are the primary cause of roof problems.
  - Tsagadai 9y ago
    You can insure against roof damage too, it is a pretty standard part of house insurance.
- ensignavenger 9y ago
  You can readily buy a 30 year shingle roof. Calling it a lifetime warranty when it is no better than a common, good quality shingle roof is absurd. Metal roofs have even longer warranties.
  - brianwawok 9y ago
    50 year asphalt roofs are all over.
canterburry 9y ago
No, I just want a new roof. I wasn't planning on installing Solar. Solar was supposed to be a perk of buying the roof from Tesla...and all of this was supposed to cost as much as a roof alone.
- greglindahl 9y ago
  Cite? Tesla (at the product launch) actually said it was about as much as buying a new, premium roof + electricity.
  - canterburry 9y ago
    Exactly...cost was supposed to be a new premium roof (just the roof, no solar panels) and they are about 3 times more expensive than "just the roof". Unless they meant a "new roof" as in when you build a house from scratch and you don't have rafters or anything. If you have an existing roof you are redoing every 20 years or so, then this is definitely not the cost of a "new roof". So, which "new roof" are we talking about here?
    - greglindahl 9y ago
      Sorry, where'd you get a quote for, say, a "Spanish" tile roof that inexpensive? And yeah, he did say (in the launch video) that the electricity was a part of the computation.
    - jhall1468 9y ago
      > cost was supposed to be a new premium roof (just the roof, no solar panels) That makes very little sense. You're making an apples to oranges comparison here. It would be absolutely impossible to pull that off. It's literally the premium roof + solar and you want it to be the same price as premium roof (thus, you want the solar hardware to cost nothing. Only one of these generates electricity, thus saving you money and that must be included in the cost calculation in order to determine the actual cost.
      - MagnumOpus 9y ago

maxerickson 9y ago

It's totally fair to just balk at the price. Someone that doesn't install solar can sell the home without worrying about recovering that cost.

heisenbit 9y ago

Considering how long Tesla has been in existence and how financially leveraged Tesla is I would take discount warranty value (lifetime of house or infinity whatever comes first). Can't project finances much more than 10 years max. At the moment cost of capital is low but that may well change in that time-frame. Things have to make sense in a decade or so also considering that this new technology that is obsoleted by incremental innovation.

65827 9y ago
Yeah there's a pretty legitimate possibility of Tesla/SolarCity collapsing if their stock had a long bad run, don't think your warranty is worth much at the back of the line in bankruptcy court.
ProAm 9y ago
It's definitely the lifetime of Tesla and not your house, roof, or owner.

Fezzik 9y ago

It's not really a lifetime warranty though. If you click through to the Tesla purchasing page, there is (only) a 30 years Power Warranty and Weatherization Warranty... which in my mind renders calling it a lifetime warranty sort of silly, as the purpose of the shingles (power generation) is not covered by the lifetime portion of the warranty. 30 years still seems like a significant warranty for a product like this though.

vkou 9y ago
The odds that Tesla will be around and willing to honor their warranty 25 years from now are also nowhere near 100%. Also, if you read the fine print, you will notice that the warranty will not cover the most frequent cause of roof problems - leaks in the seams. The same can be said for your local fly-by-night roofer, but it sounds like you can buy two roofs for the price of a SolarRoof. Also, another thing to be concerned about is whether or not you're going to be stuck in the middle of a pass-the-blame around football match between Tesla, and their subcontractors. (I guarantee you that the people installing your roof will not be Tesla employees.) In roofs, installation mistakes can cost you dearly - they are the primary cause of roof problems.
- Tsagadai 9y ago
  You can insure against roof damage too, it is a pretty standard part of house insurance.
ensignavenger 9y ago
You can readily buy a 30 year shingle roof. Calling it a lifetime warranty when it is no better than a common, good quality shingle roof is absurd. Metal roofs have even longer warranties.
- brianwawok 9y ago
  50 year asphalt roofs are all over.

canterburry 9y ago

No, I just want a new roof. I wasn't planning on installing Solar. Solar was supposed to be a perk of buying the roof from Tesla...and all of this was supposed to cost as much as a roof alone.

greglindahl 9y ago
Cite? Tesla (at the product launch) actually said it was about as much as buying a new, premium roof + electricity.
- canterburry 9y ago
  Exactly...cost was supposed to be a new premium roof (just the roof, no solar panels) and they are about 3 times more expensive than "just the roof". Unless they meant a "new roof" as in when you build a house from scratch and you don't have rafters or anything. If you have an existing roof you are redoing every 20 years or so, then this is definitely not the cost of a "new roof". So, which "new roof" are we talking about here?
  - greglindahl 9y ago
    Sorry, where'd you get a quote for, say, a "Spanish" tile roof that inexpensive? And yeah, he did say (in the launch video) that the electricity was a part of the computation.
  - jhall1468 9y ago
    > cost was supposed to be a new premium roof (just the roof, no solar panels) That makes very little sense. You're making an apples to oranges comparison here. It would be absolutely impossible to pull that off. It's literally the premium roof + solar and you want it to be the same price as premium roof (thus, you want the solar hardware to cost nothing. Only one of these generates electricity, thus saving you money and that must be included in the cost calculation in order to determine the actual cost.
    - MagnumOpus 9y ago