elon musk wants to sell you a better-looking solar roof - home battery system

Like 21st century Willie Wonka, bold entrepreneur Musk chose a prime location in Universal Studios Hollywood to showcase his latest attempts to revive an industry
A roof that produces solar energy, but does not look like other roofs.
Tesla Motor Company chief executive and SolarCity chairman Musk presented a series
Design solar roof tiles to replace bulky solar panels and connect to an upgraded version of Tesla's walls
Install the battery when the sun is not bright.
The glass sun tile is similar to the French slate, Tuscan barrel tile, or more traditional roof material with a textured or smooth surface.
"The key is to make solar look good," Musk said during a product introduction on the old set of ABC's Desperate Housewives series, where he re-
The four houses in Wigan Lane have roofs.
"If this is the right thing to do, there will be solar energy on all the roofs.
"The move comes as California's solar industry struggles to meet challenges such as slower growth, despite the state's demand to aggressively promote the use of renewable energy.
According to the solar industry association, nationwide sales of residential solar panels remained fairly stable for the year ended June 30.
State data in California show that in the first nine months of 2016, sales of solar photovoltaic panels increased by 12% compared with the same period in 2015.
However, compared with the same period last year, the 66% growth in the first three quarters of 2015 was dwarfed.
Experts attribute this slowdown to the decrease in early adopters, as well as policy changes in California and other states that manage the electricity they produce and sell to utilities.
In addition, many homeowners are concerned about whether Congress will extend the 30% federal tax credit due at the end of 2016.
Congress extended the credit line to 30% in 2019, and then gradually provided loans to residential solar customers.
California's solar industry is still expected to expand by 2016.
"We see a slowdown in the market, but it's not a recession," said Bernadette del Chiaro, executive director of the California solar industry association . ".
"This year we will install more roof solar energy than in 2015.
"An important driver of the solar market is the continued decline in the price of solar panels.
The typical residential solar system runs around $8,000 under government incentives, including a 30% federal tax credit.
According to toNavigant Research in Chicago, the supply of solar panels for residential and other uses has almost doubled, from 32 gigawatts in 2012 to 60 gigawatts in 2015.
This is enough to support about 45 million families.
But for an industry that continues to struggle with other high costs such as the labor force, it is difficult to take advantage of the decline in the price of solar panels.
According to the navigation project, technological advances in rooftop solar will help drive industry-wide sales from $3 billion in 2016 to $38 billion in 2025.
By offering consumers the choice of a wide range of solar systems, industry executives believe they will increase their ability to compete with utility power generation prices.
Prices and styling can be critical for the industry to attract customers as current solar owners have seen some of the benefits of self
Electricity generation is eroded.
Utilities complain that solar energy owners have not paid for their maintenance of the network of wires, substations, transformers and power plants that make up the grid.
Regulators across the country have increased the cost of solar owners, such as higher rate levels and mandatory fees
In California, home costs are as high as $10 to $20 a month, Del Chiaro said.
In some states, such as Florida, utilities have voted to counter the growth of rooftop solar, which has protected their monopoly on centralized power while punishing solar owners.
Almost everyone thinks the future of solar energy
Most of the energy industry
It depends on the storage of electricity, which is stored on solar energy when the sun does not shine.
The cost of storing power is high, but like solar panels, the cost is falling rapidly.
In recent months, several solar companies have announced a package of services for consumers in partnership with storage companies.
Nevertheless, it is still too expensive for the average consumer.
"All of these strategic alliances are wise," Del Chiaro said . ".
"They are key.
We basically want to sell solar energy packed with storage.
Residential solar giant Sunrun Inc. last week.
LG Chem, based in San Francisco, said the company has reached an agreement with South Korea's LG Chem, the world's largest car battery supplier, to provide consumers with household energy storage.
In July, Musk's Tesla Motor Company offered to buy solarcity for more than $2 billion.
As a battery maker, Tesla has launched its own storage and solar partnership with SolarCity.
Tesla is expected to complete its acquisition of SolarCity in November, with SolarCity being acquired by Musk's cousin, Lyden ryve, and chief technology officer, Peter Rive.
People spend a lot of time trying to create an attractive home.
They don't want interesting glass boxes stuck on one side of the roof.
But Musk, his gorgeous style, did not stop there.
Instead, he is looking for
His competitors
Musk is working to build an individual alternative energy ecosystem that is connected by software and harmony design, all named after the Tesla brand.
The idea is green.
Homeowners with ideas will mix with performance
Car geeks for Tesla retail stores shop for electric vehicles, charging stations, solar roofs and walls
Installed batteries for energy storage, provided separately, but designed to work best as a system.
The unveiling of the solar roof on Friday also included an upgraded Powerwall-Tesla's stylish wall --
Family battery for storage-
Re-charge Tesla in the garage for the solar energy generated by home use.
In a conference call with analysts on August, Linden River was almost betting that the announcement would trigger growth in SolarCity sales as the company drew homeowners with new designs.
Ryf noted that 5 million U. S.
The house has new roofs every year.
"A very large market segment" will not affect the sales of traditional products in SolarCity.
Revenue in the first six months of this year almost doubled from the same period in 2015, but the company's net loss of $2016 increased by $0. 23 billion.
SolarCity's value is well below its $84 high on February 2014. 96 per share.
The company's share price is currently hovering around $20 per share. Julian dumulin
Smith, an analyst at UBS focused on power utilities and alternative energy, said new products and gorgeous presentations were not as important to SolarCity as fundamentals.
"What they need to do is reduce the cost," dumulin-Smith said.
"The problem with meat and potatoes in this company is even more urgent.
SolarCity and home-to control costs-
Shared company Airbnb announced this month that in cooperation with whichair host and rent r, it received a rebate of up to $1,000 in solar panels through SolarCity.
In addition, SolarCity customers, who became an Airbnb host, received a $100 travel credit.
Through this partnership, solar companies reduce the cost of customer acquisition, which is a huge expense.
In addition to the rental model, solar companies have been adding financing options, and the rental model is an iconic strategy for SolarCity.
On June, SolarCity saidit began to provide 10-to 20-
Annual loans to clients will benefit homeowners from government incentives not provided by the rental program.
The loan plan allows homeowners to own panels without huge upfront costs and get a 30% federal tax credit
SolarCity and other solar leasing companies claim to own solar panels because they still own them.
Design has always been the highest for Musk, who has just reported a surprising quarterly profit at Tesla.
The company built Powerwall home battery with lines complementary to Tesla Model S;
But for Musk, SolarCity's solar panels look the same as those sold by other solar installers.
He pushed the company not only to make the product cheaper and more energy efficient, but also to make the product look better.
"It needs to be an asset to your house," he said . " He repeated this in public over the past few weeks.
"It needs to be so good that when it's done, you'll call your neighbors and show them how proud you are. "The new Tesla-
Musk said Friday that SolarCity roof tiles will be available next summer, starting in California.
He did not give details of the cost and efficiency.
Musk said he spent most of his time on engineering and design, highlighting the important relationship between the two in a conference call with stock analysts on Wednesday.
He said: "It is very important to strictly control the production of solar panels . . . . . . It has a beautiful roof product . ".
"We have to be able to iterate quickly and let them do it the way we want it.
"A 2014 survey conducted by families
Lumeta, a solar supplier, found that respondents slightly lower than three thought the appearance was very or extremely important, while respondents slightly higher than three said the appearance was slightly or not important at all.
"People spend a lot of time trying to create an attractive home," said Andy Ogden, chairman of the graduate program for industrial design at the School of Design, Pasadena Arts Center.
"They don't want interesting glass boxes stuck on one side of the roof.
"Making solar roofs more attractive," he said, adding to the number of people installing solar energy. "ivan. penn@latimes. comruss.
Mitchell @ lattims