In 2016, Tesla made a huge debut on Solar Roof with pre-orders opening in 2017. And now the company has unveiled the third version of the Solar Roof tiles, dubbed “Solar Glass Roof.”
Tesla says the purpose of the new solar roof design was to remove all the shortcomings in the first two versions.
The company says that it has changed the size of the solar roof tiles (now much larger), increased the power density of the tiles, and reduced the parts and subassemblies by half. In addition, the redesigned solar roof tiles have lower costs while being easier to manufacture and install.
According to CEO Elon Musk, installing these tiles will be cheaper than a new roof with separate solar panels. Also, a tweet from Tesla says the “latest version takes only a few days to set up and is comparable to the cost of a composition shingle roof + electrical bill.”
Made with tempered glass, Solar Roof tiles are more than three times stronger than standard roofing tiles. Initially, Tesla will be installing them themselves but will start using third-party contractors to install the roofs.
The new solar roof will cost around the US $42,500 for a roof area of 2,000 square feet, with 10kW solar capacity. The price will vary according to the size and location of the installation and will come with a 25-years warranty on solar system performance and weather protection.
Initially, it will be available in black glass style tiles only, though Musk said he hopes to unveil new designs every six to nine months.
