Tesla’s branded solar panels accounted for almost 70% of its California rooftop installs in July

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Tesla continues to shift away from using third party mainstream solar PV panel suppliers as it ramps Gigafactory 2 in in Buffalo, New York state.

Tesla continues to shift away from using third party mainstream solar PV panel suppliers as it ramps Gigafactory 2 in in Buffalo, New York state.

According to the most recent data compiled by ROTH Capital from the California Distributed Generation Statistics (CDGS) and associated contributors, Tesla successfully ramped its own branded residential solar rooftop deployments in California to 68% of total installs in the month of July, 2018, a new record high, helped by residential applications up 17% in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the previous quarter. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

PV Tech had previously detailed the rapid shift taking place amongst Tesla’s solar panel suppliers, notably the shift to using panels produced by partner Panasonic using its high-efficiency N-type mono HIT (Heterojunction with an intrinsic layer) cell technology at Gigafactory 2. 

As noted in the chart below, Tesla branded panels accounted for a declining percentage of installations in California from May through June, which was potentially due to manufacturing equipment upgrades at Gigafactory 2.

According to the most recent data compiled by ROTH Capital from the California Distributed Generation Statistics (CDGS) and associated contributors, Tesla successfully ramped its own branded residential solar rooftop deployments in California to 68% of total installs in the month of July, 2018, a new record high, helped by residential applications up 17% in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the previous quarter. Image: PV Tech

However, supply significantly jumped in July, which meant a decrease in supplier from third party suppliers such as Trina Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS and a suite of ‘other’ suppliers.
 
Tesla’s branded panels accounted for around 53% of percentage total in the first seven months of 2018, compared to a total of 18% through 2017.

Tesla recently reported total third quarter 2018 solar installations of 93MW, 11% higher than the previous quarter (84MW), which are the best installation figures since the fourth quarter of 2017, yet lower (107MW) than the prior year period.

Note: The California Distributed Generation Statistics publishes all IOU solar PV net energy metering (NEM) interconnection data from the three large California Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) which include Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison Company (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E). 

California Distributed Generation Statistics also publishes all IOU data from the California Solar Initiative incentive program and other publicly available incentive program data sets.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

September 17, 2025
Chinese module producer DAS Solar is planning a 5GW manufacturing facility focused on producing high-efficiency back contact cells.
September 17, 2025
The California State Legislature has passed two bills that aim to reduce energy prices in the state, AB 825 and SB 302.
Premium
September 17, 2025
PV CellTech: Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of North American solar module manufacturer Heliene, says US producers must learn to survive without tax incentives.
September 16, 2025
IB Solar is investing INR30 billion (US$340 million) in a 4GW TOPCon solar cell and module manufacturing plant in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
September 16, 2025
Two Wisconsin Republicans have introduced legislation to open access to community solar projects in the US state.
September 15, 2025
Vikram Solar has secured a contract to supply 200MW of modules to AB Energia, a domestic solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions provider. 

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA