• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGlobal 500

Tesla and SolarCity Finally Unveil Their Solar Roofs and Upgraded Batteries

By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 28, 2016, 9:38 PM ET
Tesla

Tesla and the solar company it’s in the process of acquiring, SolarCity, unveiled roofs integrated with solar panels, along with new versions of its batteries for buildings and the power grid, on Friday evening.

At a splashy event at Universal Studios, in Los Angeles, Calif.—which was livestreamed on Tesla’s website—the companies’ leader, billionaire Elon Musk, showed off a variety of different types of solar roofs that he’s been teasing for months, which the companies mocked up on buildings around the studio.

Musk displayed a tuscan-style roof, a smooth-tiled roof, and roofs with slate and textured tiles. He said the idea of the roofs is to make solar panels “as appealing as electric cars.”

“You’ll want to call your neighbors over, and say ‘Check out this sweet roof,'” remarked Musk.

Glaringly absent from the presentation was when (or even if) Tesla and SolarCity will sell and manufacture these solar roofs, or how much the roofs will cost.

We do know that Tesla (TSLA) and SolarCity (SCTY) designed the roof prototypes in joint collaboration, said SolarCity CEO, and Musk’s cousin, Lyndon Rive, during a very brief appearance before Musk took the stage.

Tesla's solar roof
Tesla’s solar roof
Tesla

 

Earlier this month, Tesla and SolarCity announced that, if they merge, they plan to work closely with Japanese giant Panasonic to make solar cells and modules, which make up solar panels, in SolarCity’s factory in upstate New York.

The Panasonic deal indicates that SolarCity’s own solar cell manufacturing tech has hit limitations. SolarCity built a business off of installing other companies’ solar panels, but in recent years acquired a solar manufacturing startup in an effort to both make and sell solar panels. Its unclear if SolarCity would make these or work with Panasonic to make these solar roofs?

Musk offered more details about the better batteries for homes, buildings and the power grid. Tesla plans to offer what it calls Powerwall 2, which is a battery for homes that can store energy generated by solar panels and can provide enough power for a 4-bedroom house for a day.

The solar roof, plus home battery and Tesla’s electric car, makes up Musk’s vision for moving people off of fossil fuels and to fight climate change. It “needs to beautiful, affordable and seamlessly integrated,” Musk posited, opening his presentation in his typical style of pointing out rising carbon dioxide emissions.

Yesterday, Tesla released information about new batteries for buildings and the power grid, called the Powerpack 2. Tesla said the Powerpack provides twice the energy density of the previous Powerpack.

For more on the pros and cons of the Tesla/SolarCity deal, watch:

The new products are an example of how, if combined, Tesla and SolarCity could co-engineer energy products using the latest in battery tech, electronics, and solar know-how. The event on Friday was as much a bid to sell the merger—which will be voted on November 17—as a product launch.

The new products also show how Musk is having increasing influence over SolarCity, pushing the company to focus more on differentiated products instead of its commodity, cutthroat business of selling low cost solar panels.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

However, solar panels integrated into building materials, like a roof, walls and parking structures aren’t actually new. Many companies have tried to make such products popular in the past and many have struggled to manufacture them at a low cost and with a high efficiency.

For example, Dow Chemical stopped selling its solar shingle product this year, due to underwhelming sales. Traditional commodity solar panels are at their lowest cost in history right now, and anything that requires more design and integration will add onto those ultra-low prices.

About the Author
By Katie Fehrenbacher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Elon Musk arrives at the courthouse during his trial against OpenAI
CryptoElon Musk
Elon Musk likes Bitcoin—but he just told a jury most crypto coins are scams
By Jack KubinecApril 30, 2026
32 minutes ago
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., at the Norges Bank Investment Management annual investment conference in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
EconomyJamie Dimon
For years, the risk Jamie Dimon was most concerned about was geopolitics. His answer has shifted
By Eleanor PringleApril 30, 2026
1 hour ago
google
InvestingMarkets
Google shares hit all-time high on blowout earnings, market cap doubles to $4.4 trillion in just a year
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated PressApril 30, 2026
2 hours ago
AWS
Big TechMarkets
Amazon’s cloud sales are growing the most in 15 quarters. Investors sent the stock down on AI capex fears
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressApril 30, 2026
2 hours ago
AstraZeneca CFO Aradhana Sarin
BankingCFO Daily
How AstraZeneca’s 17,000 AI-certified employees are helping it reach a ‘stretch goal’ of $80 billion in revenue
By Sheryl EstradaApril 30, 2026
4 hours ago
agentic
CommentaryAI agents
Why your data infrastructure — not your AI model — will determine whether Agentic AI scales
By Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Stephen Henriques, Catherine Dai and Zander JeinthanuttkanontApril 30, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
By Preston ForeApril 27, 2026
3 days ago
Jamie Dimon gets candid about national debt: ‘There will be a bond crisis, and then we’ll have to deal with it’
Economy
Jamie Dimon gets candid about national debt: ‘There will be a bond crisis, and then we’ll have to deal with it’
By Eleanor PringleApril 29, 2026
1 day ago
‘They left me no choice’: Powell isn’t going anywhere—blocking Trump from another Fed appointee
Banking
‘They left me no choice’: Powell isn’t going anywhere—blocking Trump from another Fed appointee
By Eva RoytburgApril 29, 2026
21 hours ago
‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers
AI
‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers
By Sasha RogelbergApril 28, 2026
2 days ago
Google Cloud revenue is now 18% of Alphabet's business. Is this the beginning of the end of Google's search identity?
Big Tech
Google Cloud revenue is now 18% of Alphabet's business. Is this the beginning of the end of Google's search identity?
By Alexei OreskovicApril 29, 2026
14 hours ago
‘Take the money and run’: Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke on why the UAE quit OPEC
Energy
‘Take the money and run’: Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke on why the UAE quit OPEC
By Shawn TullyApril 29, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.