Elon Musk's First Tesla Solar Roof Is Here

tow the line

 

To be fair no one is buying this product as a roof, it is a great idea if it works well, and if it lasts a long time it might pay for itself, however it is not affordable for the average person. I hate my power bill, but love to be comfortable, I would love to save three hundred bucks a month on electricity, I just don't have fifty thousand bucks to invest in that.

 

Not sure exactly what you are referring to. The issue of "right" or "wrong" doesn't come into play when it comes to the Chinese solar power industry. They saw an opportunity sitting there, one that we started, but had largely abandoned, and just ran with it to solve their air quality problems and to make money. It doesn't get any more pragmatic than that. "Pragmatism" is built into Chinese culture, just like "individualism" is built into the American persona - at least it used to be that way in our country - before we allowed politics to divide us, and co-opted our ability to think for ourselves.

 

At $4/sq ft, that included removing the previous shingles and underlayment from 1994, replacing some plywood, installing ice and water shield on the lower 4' of the roof, a couple valleys, creating a new ridge vent, and all new plumbing vent boots. Also it was a very steep roof.

 

Pragmatism may be built in the culture but so are LOW wages and no unions. It's called communist China for a reason and we cant, nor do we need to compete in that market. What ya think?

 

Sounds like you got pretty decent price, if it included all of that. Not sure if you mentioned it, but how much savings on your electric bill are you seeing these days?

 

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Great deal. I am pretty sure we paid more than that for the last roof replacement we did a couple of years ago. Ours was much cheaper than the slate, but then again ours was only about 1/4 the age too.

 

You should read more about China as they have adapted a lot of capitalistic ideas in the last couple of decades and they are making a big impact in the world market where we are shooting ourselves in the foot with the thought of protectionist legislation.

 

Talk is cheap wayne. When the product will save money (no matter who makes it) people will buy it. We haven't hit the money saving place with solar yet for the average consumer.

 

But the rest of the world is hitting it and the Chinese will be there to supply it to them .... to our loss.

 

So what's the solution you have in mind? Can we manufacture as cheap as China? If so, why aren't we?

 

Ours was much cheaper than the slate, but then again ours was only about 1/4 the age too.

I hope yours was cheaper than slate, unless it was slate.

 

Who wants to put anything on their roof that is made in China? Everything I have ever purchased that was made in China was garbage, I definitely would not protect nor power my home with anything made there.

 

Wayne is right. China, in recent years, is turning to a hybrid, state controlled, communist/capitalist model and is beating us at our own game, while growing their middle class through manufacturing. Think of the United States in our heyday years of manufacturing (1950-1970), and that's what China is now. They are also one of the largest consumers of luxury goods, as they continue to follow the American model of consumption. Even if we wanted to compete with China in the solar industry, it's far too late. That ship has already sailed. China built up their infrastructure to support new technologies years ago, and got billions in government subsidies to do it. They worked hard and didn't drag their feet like we did, and put millions of their citizens to work. That means, like it or not, we gave away an entire lucrative industry, that could have put thousands of Americans to work.

 

And we Americans will never "hit the money saving place" with solar. China's got it all, lock, stock, and barrel.

 

I'm guessing that 70 per cent of the stuff in your house is manufactured in China. It's been that way for years.

 

As a country, if you keep everybody's money you can subsidize lots of stuff. This is an apples to oranges comparison. Not even worth debating.

 

Not my roof

 

Not mine either right now, but in the coming years, newly built homes will most likely offer solar roof tiles as an upgrade option, while other homeowners retrofit their existing roofs, as the cost goes down. And you can bet that very few of these solar products will be made here in the US.