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Tesla’s solar roof tile prices have literally gone through the roof

Time for a second mortgage.

Tesla solar roof
Image: Tesla

If you’ve been wanting Tesla to blanket your home’s roof with stylish, affordable solar tiles, the good news is you can still get stylish solar tiles. The bad news is that it appears Tesla’s new pricing structure has gone through the roof.

Electrek first noticed the new pricing, which can be almost 100-percent more expensive for a comparable roof, depending on how complicated the surface of the roof is to install on.

Last summer, they reported on price reductions, which had the same roof of 3,947-square-feet quoted at $54,966. Now, the configurator is saying that the same square footage will cost between $79,938 and $100,621. Yikes.

READ MORE: This company wants to take on Tesla with cheaper solar roof panels

I went to go see how much my new house would be to blanket in solar, to do my part for the environment, and while I like the fact I’d not be drawing from non-renewable energy, it’s a non-starter. See, for a $27k cost (before about $5k in incentives), I’d roughly save $75 on my electric bill monthly. That’s not including the $173 finance charge monthly for the solar roof, so it’d cost me another $100 a month. Maybe if I get a Tesla it’ll be worth it, just to charge it up.

Tesla solar roof configurator showing no monthly electric bill reduction
Image: KnowTechie via Tesla

That said, the Tesla Solar Roof tiles do look just like normal roof tiles, and not the awkward panels that most solar companies are using. Maybe it’ll be worth it to some homeowners, who have higher electric use than me. I’d be willing to pay more if my newly built home had the option to spec Tesla Solar Roof tiles in the beginning though, so maybe a partnership with a home builder is something Tesla should look at.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.

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