As you may have heard, Tesla has started taking pre-orders for its brand new solar roofs. As part of this effort, they have also begun hiring roofers as they prep to start installation in the coming months.
With last year’s acquisition of SolarCity, Tesla set out to build the ultimate solar-enabled roofs. The first iteration does a novel thing: it integrates the solar panels directly into the roofing materials.
The new solar roofs come in textured, smooth, imitation slate, and imitation Tuscan terra cotta. These styles attempt to blur the lines between traditional, gaudy solar panels and standard roofs that we’ve known and loved for years.
While we have yet to see how these new roofs will stack up in real-world use compared to the time-tested materials of yesteryear, Tesla’s head Elon Musk has confirmed pricing and it falls in line with original promises.
Roofers Apply Within
Despite Tesla’s acquiring of SolarCity, which boasts thousands of installers, none or few of these installers are equipped to tackle full roof installations. That’s why Tesla is looking to fill their needs from within the roofing industry directly.
By their estimates, these solar roofs should take between 5-7 days for installation, which is pretty close to a typical new roof installation. If they can get skilled roofers to mesh with their solar installers, they’ll only be held back by how quickly they can manufacture these things.
Because pre-orders have already proven to not be a setback.
Can Roofing Companies Get In On The Action?
That’s one of the burning questions we still have about this. Of course, we work with a lot of roofers who are anxious to see how these new roofs perform and the demand for them.
Any roofer looking to stay on the cutting-edge of technology and customer demand is excited to get their hands dirty.
Unfortunately, we still don’t have any news about whether Tesla will open up their solar roofs to presently-established roofing contractors who are looking to expand their material offerings and diversify their skill set.
Traditionally Elon Musk and Tesla have taken the Apple approach to sales and have kept things in-house but depending on the number of sales they start seeing and if they can’t keep up with the demand, they might consider bringing in some skilled roofing contractor companies into the mix to help deliver their product nationwide.
But Tesla’s plans also include an upcoming worldwide launch. In fact, interested parties outside of the United States can pre-order now with the same $1,000 deposit, but will just have to wait until next year before installations begin in their neighborhoods. That’s a wide expansion, and I can only imagine Tesla will be gearing up to train traditional roofing contractors to help in the installation efforts.
It’s A Bold, Solar New Future
This exciting technology is coming closer to reality and we can’t wait to see how everything pans out and how the competition responds.
If you’re a roofer in need of work and are interested in dipping your toes in the solar industry, this is your chance.
Source: electrek
