In response to a number of questions, he confirmed that UK “delivery and installation” would begin next year. US deliveries will start before the end of 2017.

The initial orders will be for the black smooth and textured tiles with the Tuscan and French slate models following six months after.

According Tesla’s most recent quarterly results, manufacturing of the tiles will begin in Q2 2017.

“We plan to start pilot manufacturing Solar Roof tiles in the second quarter of 2017 at our Fremont Factory. Shortly thereafter, production will transition to Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York. Our partner, Panasonic, will provide capital and operational support to manufacture PV cells, thus enabling high volume integrated tile and PV cell production at a single facility,” the company said.

The tiles were first revealed in October 2016.

Solar roof can be ordered for almost any country. Deployment this year in the US and overseas next year.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 10, 2017

UPCOMING EVENT

Solar & Storage Finance USA 2025

21 October 2025

New York, USA

Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.

UPCOMING EVENT

PV ModuleTech USA 2026

16 June 2026

Napa, USA

PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

bipv, elon musk, gigafactory, panasonic, residential rooftop, residential solar, solar roof tiles, tesla, us, usa

Mind the gap

October 20, 2025

New data suggests the traditional assumptions behind hail stow modelling may be underestimating the likelihood of damage to a PV system.

US policies to ‘cloud’ renewable project deployment and costs, batteries and solar to be hit hardest

October 20, 2025

New federal policies in the US will 'cloud' the country’s renewable energy sector, according to a webinar hosted by Wood Mackenzie.

Section 232 polysilicon tariffs could be clarified by ‘end of the month’

October 20, 2025

Details of tariffs on US imports of polysilicon products may be announced as early as the end of this month, according to a note from investment bank Roth Capital.