Powering the Future

Name: Why Tesla has struggled with its solar business
Uploaded: 2021-10-06T12:29:01.000Z
Duration: 21 min 59 s
Description: It's been five years since Tesla acquired SolarCity for about $2.6 billion. The deal was immediately controversial, with some shareholders suing Elon Musk. But fans looked forward to charging their Tesla electric vehicles on sunshine. CNBC interviewed industry experts and recent Tesla solar customers to see how the company is delivering on its promises today.

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Powering the Future

Why Tesla has struggled with its solar business

It's been five years since Tesla acquired SolarCity for about $2.6 billion. The deal was immediately controversial, with some shareholders suing Elon Musk. But fans looked forward to charging their Tesla electric vehicles on sunshine. CNBC interviewed industry experts and recent Tesla solar customers to see how the company is delivering on its promises today.

21:59

Wed, Oct 6 20218:29 AM EDT

Andrew Evers

Jeniece Pettitt

Tesla's foray into solar began with SolarCity, a start-up founded in 2006 by Elon Musk's cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive, and backed by Musk, who served as chairman of the board. Tesla acquired the company in 2016, the same year Elon Musk also unveiled the Solar Roof that created quite a buzz at the time.

But since then, Tesla's solar business has been plagued with lawsuits, customer service and installation challenges, and the Solar Roof has yet to take off as promised.

CNBC spoke to several Tesla solar customers and industry experts about why Tesla's solar business hasn't yet taken off in the way Elon Musk imagined it would five years ago.

Watch the video to learn more.

Correction: This video has been updated to reflect Elon Musk's share holdings accurately.