People waiting for Tesla’s much-hyped solar roofs are going to have to wait a little longer. Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and purveyor of flamethrowers and tiny submarines, is reportedly stalling production over issues with the “aesthetic” quality of the roof panels.
According to Reuters, the solar roof panels, which Tesla began selling to customers last year, are coming off the line far slower than the company (and its investors) had hoped. The problem?
“Aesthetic look is the key point that Elon is always not satisfied with,” an unnamed former Tesla employee told Reuters. “That’s the big issue.”
Musk acquired Solarcity in 2016 with the goal of making solar power sexy and ubiquitous through good design. The plan was to create photovoltaic panels indistinguishable from regular roof tiles, and early renderings of the tiles were promising.
They showed homes with clay and slate roofs that could capture and store sunlight with increased efficiency, and indeed, they do look good. But renderings and reality are two very different things, and while a small number of homes have already gotten their roof tiles installed, doing it at scale has proven to be a daunting task that not even Musk has figured out.
Via: Reuters