Tesla’s abrupt decision to kill its Solar Roof has left third-party contractors absorbing the fallout, with some reporting six-figure losses after investing in training, tooling, and crews. Over seven years, only about 3,000 Solar Roof systems were installed in the US, far below Elon Musk’s promise of 1,000 weekly installations by 2019-2020. Tesla stopped supplying solar tiles in August, redirecting tesla.com/solarroof to its solar panel page and removing 'Solar Roof' from the Energy menu.

Installers like Elevated Roofing & Siding in Dayton, Ohio, PGT Home Energy Solutions in Tempe, Arizona, Westfall Roofing in Florida, and Saguaro Solar, Electric & Roofing in Tucson underwent multi-week West Coast training and required supervised installations before certification. The product took two-plus weeks to install versus two days for conventional panels. Contractors are now redesigning active projects or switching systems mid-pipeline.

While Tesla says it will honor warranties and provide replacement parts, installers like Greg Field of PGT Home Energy Solutions and Aaron Nichols of Exact Solar express skepticism about long-term parts availability and higher labor costs for servicing. Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries argues Tesla underestimated the roofing business’s complexity.