Renewable energy is on the rise, and with his project "Tesla Energy" it's Tesla's CEO Elon Musk's dream to offer consumers a solution for a life that's fully powered by clean energy.
And now, Tesla has taken the next step into that direction.

Yesterday, Elon Musk has announced Tesla's newest product:

Solar roof tiles that are inconspicuous, sleek and modern.

The company turned part of Universal Studios in Los Angeles into a model-neighborhood, and equipped several houses with different solar roofs to illustrate the new product.

They are made of textured glass with integrated solar panels, and very durable (50+ years) even in harsh conditions and very cold weather.
The tiles almost look like traditional ones, but they can achieve 98% efficiency of the regular solar panels that we know. But it's Tesla's goal to make them even more efficient than traditional photovoltaik panels in the future.
Every tile is unique and different, so every roof will be unique as well.

They come in 4 different styles:

Tuscan Glass Tile, Smooth Glass Tile, Slate Glass Tile, Textured Glass Tile

"The goal is to have a roof that's less than the installed cost of a roof plus electricity", said Musk.
While there is still no official price for the solar roof yet, he admitted that it probably won't be worth it to replace a roof that's new and working perfectly well with the new sola tiles just yet. But if your roof needs replacement anyway, or you'd like to switch to solar energy due to the electricity costs, it will be cost-effective.

The product is the result of a cooperation with SolarCity, but if it will actually become available for customers will be decided on Nov. 17.
Tesla has offered to buy the company SolarCity for $2.6 billion, but investors still have to vote over this decision.
If the cooperation launches as planned, these roofs will be available to customers starting summer 2017.

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In other news, Tesla has also announced the new

'Powerwall 2' !

The Powerwall is a large home battery where you can store the solar energy that's been generated during the day, and use it whenever it's most convenient for you.

While the first Powerwall was introduced in 2015 and had a 7kWh battery, the new Powerwall 2 offers a storage of 14 kWh and a consistent power of 5 kW.
Tesla claims that it will work for unlimited cycles in a time period of 10 years, and that it can store enough power to provide electricity for a refrigerator, sockets and lights in a 4 bedroom home for one day.
Customers can have their own Powerwall 2 starting early 2017, for the price of around $5,500.

“This is sort of the integrated future. An electric car, a Powerwall and a solar roof. The key is it needs to be beautiful, affordable and seamlessly integrated" - Elon Musk

Musk suggested that when a solar roof is paired with a powerwall, you might not need to use traditional electricity anymore!

The Tesla Model S, Powerwall and Solar Roof - Combination of the future?

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

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