On Friday night, when the sun fell from Hollywood\'s Desperate Housewives, Elon Musk took to the stage to begin his speech on climate change.
It\'s a strange scene where hundreds of people are crowded in the middle of a clever, artificial suburban community.
It wasn\'t until about a minute before the speech began that Musk casually let the crowd know Tesla\'s big secret.
\"What\'s interesting is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses,\" Musk said . \".
\"Did you notice it?
In short, the answer is No.
Like everyone else, I know we went to see Musk\'s new \"solar roof\", no matter what that means.
But when we walked in I tried as much as I could and I didn\'t see anything that looked like it could carry the current.
If any, the slate and Spanish clay roof look too beautiful for the TV set.
Musk claims that this is the future of solar energy.
\"You will want to call your neighbor and say \'look at the sweet roof \'.
This is not a phrase you often hear.
Roof tiles are actually made of textured glass.
They look like ordinary wooden tiles from most viewing angles, but they allow light to pass through standard flat panel solar cells from above.
The plan was for Panasonic to produce solar cells, and Tesla assembled glass bricks with everything that followed.
It all depends on the approval of shareholders for $2.
2 billion acquisition of the largest solar city in the United StatesS.
Roof installation, November. 17.
Tesla says tempered glass is \"as tough as steel\" and can withstand lifetime abuse from these elements.
It can also install heating elements to melt snow in a cold climate.
Musk said: \"It will never wear out. it is made of quartz. It has a quasi-
Infinite Life
Musk said in a Q & A with reporters after the speech that these tiles are high with competitors
Efficient solar panels.
The prototype that Tesla engineers are currently working on has only reduced the efficiency of the underlying solar cells by 2%.
Musk said that with further improvements, he hopes that the micro blinds responsible for making the tiles look like opaquecan can really improve the efficiency of standard photovoltaic cells.
The vision presented at Universal Studios Los Angeles is Musk\'s cleaning-
Energy ambitions.
The audience was able to enter a fully Tesla-driven future: a house with carved Tuscan solar tiles on the roof, where to spend the night
Time electricity is stored on two smooth walls.
The Powerwall battery was hung and a prototype 3 electric vehicle was launched not far from home.
Widodo Lanewas Tesla\'s Powerwall 2 has attracted less attention, a major upgrade to its home battery.
I was skeptical when Powerwall was released last year.
In most cases, it is too expensive for the electricity it provides, especially in the United States. S.
Electricity is cheap there, and most people can sell excess solar energy to the grid.
Version 2 is a very different product.
It has more than twice the packaging capacity.
6 at 14 KW.
4 KW hours
Cheaper after installation.
It includes a built-inin Tesla-
Brand inverter, with ten years, unlimited-cycle warranty.
Power storage is critical for future solar absorption.
Already in some solar energy-
In busy areas, electricity is produced during the day more than people can consume, and utilities are soaring in the evening when the sun goes down. In the U. S.
Some states have given up payments for rooftop solar during the day, destroying huge household investments in solar systems.
The only way is to let the customer use electricity at night.
Just like trying solar tile before, solar-plus-
Battery packs are not really popular yet.
So far, SolarCity has sold only a few hundred bundles.
But one argument can be made that these products are not complex enough and the price is still too high.
Powerwall 2 may be the cheapest lithium-ion battery in the home at the time of delivery in January.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Tesla is selling battery retail prices that are cheaper than the average manufacturing cost of most companies.
Yayoi Sekine, BNEF analyst, said: \"We certainly expect it to lower market prices like the first Powerwall we saw last year . \" He is in charge of battery technology.
\"The future will be mainly solar cells,\" Musk said . \".
\"They go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Powerwall 2 looks ready for prime time.
New solar tile?
Let\'s wait until more details appear.
Tesla said that we expect to start a slow initial promotion in about nine months.
In the two years of production, of the 5% roofs installed in the United States, wooden tiles may account for 5 millionS.
\"Every year,\" said Peter Rive of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Founder and chief technology officer
Tesla\'s SolarCity will also produce and sell-
Install solar panels for homeowners who do not have an existing roof replacement plan.
The price of the new solar roof is a bit-squishy.
Musk said that compared with people who buy similar traditional roofs and electricity from the grid, people who buy Tesla roofs will save money.
But don\'t make a mistake: it will be a high-end product at least when it\'s first launched.
Tesla\'s Imitation terracotta warriors and slate roofs are one of the most expensive roofing materials on the market.
SolarCity CEO Lyndon Reve points out that there may be a big change in the price of traditional roofs, from $7,000 to $70,000
Based on material, size, complexity, location-
Therefore, it would be difficult to give a fixed price on the solar roof at this point.
\"This is a super metaphor.
Hugh brosley, solar analyst at BNEF, said.
\"It depicts the cutting
Cutting-edge technology that is broadly attractive, . . . . . . It competes in the solar market, where most customers are comfortable in a family car.
\"Telsa will post more financial information about SolarCity transactions before voting to shareholders this week.
If all Musk\'s plans come true, by the end of next year, you can walk into the Tesla store and buy a Model 3 electric car, a slate --
Glass solar roof and power wall 2 manage the flow of all the electrons in your life.
Before we determine whether Musk\'s vision for greater unity will become more than just a great TV background, there are a lot of details to be addressed.
However, these tiles for close viewing are definitely worth mentioning.