One of the main problems with solar rooftop installations is they can be quite heavy on the pocket, at least in the short run. The average cost of a residential rooftop solar system today is about $2.98 per watt, $1.00 out of which goes to so-called soft costs – things like design, sales commissions, permitting, and inspections. Car manufacturer Tesla wants to slash these costs by standardizing systems and requiring customers to order their rooftop systems online, a move that will get the price down by up to 41 percent less than the national average. To further reduce costs and complexity, customers will be asked to do many of the tasks Tesla employees used to do. Homeowners will photograph electric meters, circuit breaker boxes, and other equipment and send the images to the company, reducing the need for site visits. As a result of these changes, Tesla customers could expect to pay between $1.75 to $1.99 per watt, depending on where they live.
Tesla plans to cut the price of its solar panels by as much as 41%
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