New Tesla solar roof ‘cheaper’ than concrete ones

The much talked about Tesla solar roof system could cost less than a traditional concrete roof, this is without factoring in the cost savings of the generated electricity.

Tesla has said “it makes ‘complete financial sense’ for all new house-builders to use one”.

The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has made the bold claim during a special shareholders meeting to approve the $2 billion (£1.62bn) merger between Tesla and SolarCity. These companies would then work together to develop the new roof technology.

It goes significantly above his previous claim that the roof would be cheaper than standard roofs due to its electricity cost savings, including labour. The main reason it’s so much cheaper is because the traditional roofing supply chain is, in his view, inefficient.

Mr Musk thinks that by cutting the weight of a product, you can save a lot of money on logistics, shipping and breakage costs.

He said: “It’s looking quite promising that a solar roof will actually cost less than a normal roof before you even take the value of electricity into account. So the basic proposition would be, ‘Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and by the way generates electricity?’ It’s like, why would you get anything else?”

The product looks like it could hugely accelerate the solar market, with five million homes needing a new roof each year in the US alone.