Tesla missed its solar roof systems target by a huge margin

Wood Mackenzie has released new research revealing that Tesla has only installed 3,000 of its Solar Roof systems in the U.S. since touting the technology seven years ago.

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Despite Tesla's guidance and ambitions for what it called its "solar glass" roof tiles, that installation rate falls far short of what the company once estimated. As Wood Mackenzie points out, the company announced in late 2019 that it aimed to produce 1,000 solar roofs per week and that it was also planning to install 1,000 roofs per week by the end of 2020.

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After the 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, a solar installer founded by his cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive with Elon Musk's help as a key driver behind its success and growth, the report offers the latest glimpse into Musk's struggles to integrate solar energy into his electric car company following the acquisition.

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The average number of Tesla Solar Roof installations per week reached only 21 in 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie. In the first quarter of last year, according to the study, Tesla saw a record number of average weekly installations in the U.S. of 32 units.

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Tesla's $2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity was Musk's first promotion of a shingle-style solar panel in October 2016, as he was trying to get shareholders excited about Tesla's $2.6 billion acquisition of the company. It has since been revealed that the shingle he showed at a marketing event was not even a working prototype, as he had shown it at a marketing event. SolarCity is a company that Musk invested significant capital, while also serving as the chairman of the board at Tesla and SpaceX.

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Tesla and Musk were eventually sued by a group of Tesla shareholders over the deal that they made. There was a bench trial that took place last year in which the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in favor of Musk. On Wednesday, however, the shareholders' lawyers had their opening arguments in Delaware Supreme Court as they pursued an appeal against the decision of the court.

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Several Tesla shareholders have stated that the purchase of SolarCity was an attempt by Musk to save Tesla from bankruptcy and that this took place because Musk's reputation and personal wealth were at stake. Musk has denied that he forced the Tesla board of directors to approve the SolarCity deal in order to save his company financially. Trade Algo previously reported that Musk could have been forced to pay upwards of $2 billion in damages if he had lost his case.

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Even though Tesla's Solar Roof effort hasn't been as successful as it might have hoped, the company's traditional solar panels are beginning to gain traction in the market.

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From 2016 to 2020, the traditional solar-panel installation market shrank significantly, while the volume of residential solar installations has been on the rise. Mackenzie Wood researchers told Trade Algo in an e-mail that the residential solar industry had been growing overall. It was reported that Tesla installed traditional solar panels with the capacity to generate power of 156 megawatts in 2021, and 248 megawatts in 2022, according to researchers.

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There are approximately 3,000 Solar Roof systems that have been installed in the United States with a total estimated capacity of around 30 megawatts.

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While Tesla had intended to manufacture all of its solar roof tiles initially, instead it procured photovoltaic glass from Almaden, a Chinese company that manufactures photovoltaic glass. In 2022, GAF Energy, a major manufacturer of residential roofing products, began producing and selling a competing solar shingle to residential roofers throughout the country.

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Tesla Solar Roofs are expected to command less than 0.03% of the approximately 5 million new rooftops that are expected to be constructed in the United States by 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie.

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In response to a request for comment, Tesla did not respond.