Take a look at the roofs of these four houses.
Can you spot which one is covered in solar?
That’s actually a trick question, because
they all are.
Tesla just unveiled its first-ever solar product,
and it’s stunning.
Tesla's first ever  solar project is stunning
It’s not a solar panel—instead it’s
a range of four solar roofing materials that
look virtually indistinguishable from high-end
terracotta, slate, or slick modern asphalt
shingles.
Here’s how it works: the top of the roof
tiles is made of textured glass.
It looks like shingles from most angles, but
it allows sunlight to pass through from above
and into a standard solar cell with almost
no loss in efficiency.
Tesla says the glass is as tough as steel,
and can weather a lifetime of abuse from the
elements.
It can also be fitted with heating elements
to melt off snow in colder climates.
The price of the tiles is compelling for a
high-end roof.
Active solar tiles will cost about about $42
per square foot -- cheaper than traditional
shingles with solar panels on top.
But ultimately you'll probably need more tiles
to do the same job so Tesla's total roof cost
will be a bit higher.
You want to call your neighbors over and say
check out the sweet roof--it's not a phrase
you hear often.
This represents the grand unification of Tesla’s
plans to become a sun-to-vehicle energy company.
The idea is that you can run your home on
solar power, store it in a slim battery that
hangs on your wall, and use that electricity
to power your home and car.
Tesla also doubled the capacity of that Powerwall
battery, creating the world’s cheapest lithium-ion
storage to extend rooftop solar power into
the night.
This combination is perhaps the closest we’ve
ever come to affordable off-grid electricity.
the goal is to make solar roofs that look better than a normal roof, generate electricity,
last longer, have better insulation and actually
have an installed cost that is less than a
normal roof plus the price of electricity.
Why would you have anything else?
The solar roof was Musk’s closing argument
to shareholders before their vote to approve
Tesla’s $2.2 billion bid to buy the biggest
U.S. rooftop solar installer, SolarCity, to
make it all possible.
There’s plenty of reason for skepticism,
but if Musk can pull it off, this trifecta
of Tesla products: the solar roof, the Powerwall
2, and the Model 3 electric car will be available
in Tesla stores across the U.S. by the end
of 2017.
