Tesla has consented to a settlement of just over $6 million in a class-action lawsuit initiated by customers who encountered unexpected price hikes in 2021 for Solar Roof installations they had previously agreed to. This settlement was filed with a U.S. District Court in San Francisco on July 10.
Originally dubbed “solarglass,” Tesla’s Solar Roof was introduced by CEO Elon Musk in 2016 as an aesthetic yet energy-efficient roofing solution. Musk presented the product, which could blend seamlessly with regular roofing shingles while generating energy, as part of Tesla’s then-projected acquisition of SolarCity. However, the glassy, solar roof tile presented was later clarified to be a non-functional model.
Tesla’s customers had been signing up for Solar Roof systems installations when the sudden price increase in 2021 shocked many. For instance, Matthew Amans, a lead plaintiff in the class action, saw the cost of his solar roof skyrocket from $72,000 to roughly $146,000, as revealed in court documents, reports CNBC.
In 2021, the electric vehicle manufacturer not only increased the prices of its solar installations twice, but also made it mandatory for customers purchasing solar panels or roof tiles to order its Powerwall home energy storage system.
The amended settlement agreement discloses that nearly 8,636 Tesla customers had been affected by the price hikes by June end, prompting just over 6,300 to cancel their Solar Roof contracts. Conversely, Tesla fulfilled 1,656 contracts at the original price, with another 57 customers due for installations at the original price. Only 616 customers have not yet canceled or confirmed installations at the initial price.
Despite having launched the product seven years prior, Tesla only managed to install approximately 3,000 Solar Roof systems in the U.S by the start of 2023, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Tesla’s solar deployments, inclusive of both traditional solar panels and roof tiles, witnessed nearly a 50% drop to 48 MW in the first quarter of 2022 from the same period last year. Battery energy storage systems saw an increase of 90% year-on-year, reaching 846 MWh, but this was a decrease from the previous quarter. The company attributed the decline in solar deployments to import delays on certain components, a factor beyond its control.
For comparison, the national average cost for a 10-kilowatt solar panel installation in 2022 stood around $20,000 after considering federal solar tax credits, as reported by EnergySage, a marketplace that connects energy companies and customers.
