Powerhouse

(2 minute read, 2 minute watch)

“The interesting thing is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses. Did you notice?” 

On the afternoon of Friday, October 28th Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented his latest project - solar roofs. Held on the set of retired TV series, Desperate Housewives, at Universal Studios, the stage and crowd were surrounded by the suburban houses of Wisteria Lane. Although the audience knew the topic of the presentation, no one could tell that the houses around them had glass roof tiles made with solar cells.  

You can watch a short summary of the presentation below:

Just in August, we wrote about the future of sustainable energy, and the merger of Tesla and SolarCity, both Musk companies. A little more than three months later, Musk unveils houses fitted with solar roof tiles, an improved home battery for electricity storage, and an electric car in the garage. His vision of creating an end-to-end product solution that uses solar energy to power your home and (EV) car has arrived. Residential sustainable energy is rapidly on its way to becoming an attainable reality.

It was announced on November 17th, just 20 days after the solar roof presentation, that Tesla shareholders approved the $2.2 billion acquisition of SolarCity, meaning Tesla is now a solar panel-home battery-electric car-producing powerhouse (pun intended). 

Musk wasted no time and announced that same day that the cost to manufacture and install the Tesla solar roofs will cost less than a conventional roof. The savings on electricity are “just an added bonus.”

In addition, the Tesla Powerwall 2 more than doubled the capacity of energy storage of its predecessor - 14 kilowatt hours versus 6.4 kilowatt hours - and decreased in price tag as well.  

The Powerwall 2 is expected to hit the market in January 2017 for $5,500 and $1,000 to install. The solar roofs are expected to be seen sometime next year, starting in California and other states with high energy bills. 

Every innovation and disruption in the energy arena is a step closer to sustainable living and zero emissions. These are bold steps in realizing affordability for all- solar energy paired with battery storage is becoming more and more compelling to the market.