Why Tesla's solar roof better be a lot cheaper than it sounds

"You'll want to call your neighbors over and say 'check out the sweet roof,'" Musk promised. But you probably won't want to tell them what it cost.

These new solar panels aren't quite worth the money yet.
(Image credit: Tesla)

Tesla and its wunderkind founder and CEO, Elon Musk, unveiled a new gizmo this week: solar panel tiles that double as roof shingles.

Aesthetically, they're undeniably cool. The solar tiles are made from textured glass to mimic classic designs — standard black asphalt shingles, Tuscan shingles, slate tiles, and Spanish-style curved clay shingles. "You'll want to call your neighbors over and say 'check out the sweet roof,'" Musk promised.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.