Tesla Discontinues Solar Roof Tile Product
Tesla has dropped its Solar Roof, leaving its installer network with conventional solar panels only.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
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Tesla has discontinued its Solar Roof tile product, which was designed to resemble ordinary shingles while delivering 98 percent of a standard solar panel's efficiency. The company's third-party installers will now be supplied only with conventional solar panels.
Why it matters
Solar Roof reached mass production in 2020 but struggled with high prices and missed sales targets. Its exit signals the limits of integrated solar roofing for U.S. homeowners.
Solar Roof system pricing for a 12.3 kW installation on a 3,947 square-foot roof rose from $54,966 before incentives to between $79,938 and $100,621 within a year. Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion shortly after the product's launch event.
The players
Tesla
Tesla is an electric vehicle and clean energy company led by Elon Musk that also sells solar panels and energy storage products.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is the chief executive of Tesla, who publicly acknowledged significant mistakes and overspending on the Solar Roof in 2021.
Wood Mackenzie
Wood Mackenzie is a global energy research and consultancy firm that tracks renewable energy installations and market data.
The details
Tesla's Solar Roof page has been redirected to its solar panels, and the product no longer appears in the company's Energy navigation menu. Its online configurator now redirects to conventional panels, and user reports of underproduction and melting roof underlayment hurt sales.
Timeline
2020: Solar Roof reaches mass production.
2021: Elon Musk admits significant mistakes and overspending on the first-quarter earnings call.
2022: Wood Mackenzie finds only 3,000 U.S. homes had installed the product.
August 2026: Electrek reports Tesla is discontinuing the product.
Roadmap
The discontinuation follows the SolarCity acquisition, which Tesla completed for $2.6 billion shortly after the Solar Roof launch. It marks a retreat from integrated solar roofing toward conventional panels as the company's primary residential solar offering.
Homeowners considering Tesla's integrated roof will now need to choose conventional solar panels or another installer's product. Pricing that rose from about $55,000 to roughly $80,000 to $100,000 within a year shows why cost was a central obstacle.
The takeaway
Integrated solar roofing proved costly and slow to scale, and buyers weighing solar should compare conventional panels on price and output. The Solar Roof's exit shows that aesthetic appeal alone did not carry the product.
Further reading
Explore more on Electric Vehicles coverage across the United States.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Engadget.
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