Tesla is preparing to expand its Solar Roof product to Canada and Europe, which could happen as soon as this year, according to CEO Elon Musk.
The Solar Roof was off to a tough start early on in its rollout.
The automaker had to test for longevity, tweak the design for faster installation, ramp up production, and lower cost.
Last year, things started to turn around as Tesla changed the type of underlay it uses with its solar roof tiles and also reduced the price of the product.
The company also ramped up the hiring of roofers to accelerate the deployment of solar roofs, which started to show results over the last two quarters.
The deployment of the product has been limited to the US, but now, CEO Elon Musk has given us an idea of the timeline for expansions in the new markets.
Musk said that Tesla will launch the Solar Roof in Canada this year:
We kind of knew that was coming, as we previously reported that Tesla has started to hire roofers in Canada last year.
However, Canada is a big country, and we only saw solar roof jobs in the Toronto area, and until that expands, we can expect availability to be limited.
Musk also said that Tesla could launch solar roof in Europe later this year, but he appeared less confident about that:
Tesla’s solar roof expansions in other markets will not only be limited by tile production at Gigafactory New York, but also by Tesla’s ability to hire installers.
Though Tesla is also qualifying third-party roofing companies to install the solar roof tiles, which can enable faster deployment.
We have seen roofing companies install a Tesla solar roof rather efficiently in just a few days, and the product has reportedly received strong interest from the industry.
Are you looking forward to Tesla Solar Roof launching in your area? Let us know in the comment section below.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
