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Tesla’s debut has gone over well<\/h2>\n
Musk asked the audience, \u201cDid you notice? The interesting thing is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses.\u201d No one could tell the difference. Audience members commented on the fact that they weren\u2019t able to see anything that looked like it could carry an electrical current: no wires, no panels, nothing distinctly \u201csolar.\u201d<\/p>\n
If that\u2019s not a testament to the Tesla teams\u2019 design innovations, I don\u2019t know what is. That’s how you change the game.<\/p>\n
Solar cells\u00a0that are camoflauged<\/h2>\n
Bloomberg reports<\/a> that they didn\u2019t see this coming, but Musk has been all about solar power and battery innovation for quite some time. The difference in the design by Tesla is that the roof tiles are actually made of textured glass. There aren\u2019t panels mounted to the roof, but rather the \u201cshingles\u201d themselves are the panels.<\/p>\n [clickToTweet tweet=”Tesla’s new solar panels are out of sight, but not out of mind. #GameChanger” quote=”These special shingles allow light to pass through from above onto the standard flat solar cell: out of sight, but not out of mind.”]<\/p>\n The plan is for Panasonic to produce solar cells while Tesla puts the glass tiles and everything that goes along with them together to make a design that is truly extraordinary.<\/p>\n The tempered glass is made of quartz, and Musk notes, “It has a quasi-infinite lifetime.\u201d It will withstand extreme temperatures, from heat to snow. Outside of the solar panels, the best part of this set up is the battery.<\/p>\n Tesla plans to use Powerwall 2 batteries, a lithium ion battery with a great capacity for power storage. The current prototype reduces the efficiency of the solar cell by a mere 2 percent, but with continued innovation, Musk believes the microscopic louvers that keep the tiles opaque could actually be used to boost the solar cells.<\/p>\n Sound expensive? When you consider you\u2019ll likely never have to replace this roof (I say likely<\/em> because I\u2019m not sure about extreme elements like hurricanes, hail, and earthquakes), it\u2019s not as much as you\u2019d think. Musk said the pricing is a bit \u201csquishy,\u201d depending on what materials you choose to use. The premium options, like terra cotta and slate are at the most costly end of the spectrum, but there will be other options for the budget conscious.<\/p>\n Right now, Musk prices this product from around $7,000 to $70,000 depending on size and materials. As the innovation advances, pricing will become more concrete and the range of options more apparent. At any rate, Tesla gets a big \u201cthumbs up\u201d from us for this amazing, eco-conscious innovation.<\/p>\n * Join our Closed Facebook Group to discuss\u00a0Tesla’s solar roofs. *<\/a><\/p>\nAs tough as they are pretty<\/h2>\n
Not bad on the wallet<\/h2>\n