Are Tesla solar panels & solar batteries the best?

Everything you need to know about Tesla solar panels and batteries in 2024

Updated: May 4, 2024

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Manufacturer since 2003

solar panels

batteries

Manufacturer since 2003

solar panels

batteries

2.16 from 84 Reviews

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Latest good review

Aardvark Power & Light | Altadena, CA | 06/16/2022

An excellent installation, but oh, the journey to get there!

In the end, the crew from Tesla Residential Energy (“Skywalker” crew for the roof panels, and “Dooku” crew for the batteries and electrical work) did a terrific and elegant job on installation of the system, working hammer and tongs to get the job done expeditiously. 5 stars on that part. But my, the rocky one-year journey to get there! It all looked so easy during the on-line ordering process. Just a few clicks and a $100.00 deposit; easier than ordering food from an online menu. Then the trouble started: system order administratively downsized from 14 kW to 6.8, no explanation, but endless bot-driven messages to approve that revision. No way! Contacting a project advisor in customer service was nearly impossible back then (by now, dramatically improved). Turns out they won’t install on the pergola roof, because it doesn’t have four walls and is not a “permanent structure.” Much money wasted in providing a buried conduit from there back to the interconnection point on the main house. Next, they refused to install panels on the garage because the framing was weak and saggy. This was a correct call, but the roof and framing had to be removed, new stronger framing installed, along with a new roof. A 5-figure exercise. Then, Tesla Design required plans, load calculations and sealed sign off from a Professional Engineer, showing that the garage roof would bear the 3 lb per square foot load of the panels. $4,000. more. Then, a tree had to be removed from near the side of the garage where the batteries were to go. Another $200. FInally, Design agreed to the 13.2 kW design I wanted, with 4 Powerwalls totaling 54 kW of storage, and two inverters, eliminating a single point of failure. Service had to be upgraded to 200 A. from 100 A. with a brand-new load center, solar approved. Done, another 4 figures. LA Fire, and LA Building changed codes during this period, requiring further changes to the design and location of certain things. Fully 7 iterations of the design were done for various reasons prior to installation, and an additional iteration will be done post-installation because of some incorrect load calculations and a mistake in the wiring diagram, this to support the coming inspection which, we hope, will not produce additional surprises. Then the installers came, and for code and technical reasons, decided that a different panel was required, and all the circuits had to be transferred to the new panel. This was included in the contracted installation; no extra charge. But a lot of extra work for the Tesla electricians. After a long three days (typical installation takes one to two, says Tesla), the heroic installers completed their work and commissioned the system. By then, it was sunset, so it was necessary to wait until the next day to see if everything worked. It did! Because some of the panels are north-facing, which is suboptimal, the 13 kW nameplate system only produces a maximum of 9.8 kW at noon near the summer solstice, but this is enough power for long enough each day to bring the Powerwalls up to full charge each morning, run the pool pump in the morning and the air conditioning in the afternoon, and keep the Tesla Model S topped off, all without calling on power from the grid. Winter conditions will produce less power, but less needed because of no air conditioning required. It’s amazing: like running off grid from a silent whole-house generator and a propane tank that automatically fills itself each day for free. Now, it’s on to inspection and then Permission To Operate from the utility so excess capacity can be generated and sold back to Souther California Edison, rather than curtailed and wasted. Bottom line: when you click “order” from Tesla or any other vendor, be prepared for it to lead to more complexity than you thought! And likely significantly more time and money.

Latest bad review

John Doe | North Beach, MD | 05/04/2024

DO NOT BUY

Tesla is non existent when needing help - bills keep coming but no savings are and no one will help. It gets worse when you try and sell a home with them on the house.

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AD58 | San Rafael, CA | 01/19/2023

What customer service?

Solar inverter (under warranty) went down. Set up service call - was going to be a week later, but with weather issues this time of year that seemed understandable. They just moved it two and a half weeks later, so now no solar for almost a month (assuming the tech doesn't need to order parts, which could add months to this). Meanwhile I'm paying their loan every month. You can't call them; it's automated attendant hell. There just is one way useless communication. Good solar system, worst customer service I've seen in years.

Unhappy Customer | Peoria, AZ | 01/18/2023

Tesla sells a garbage system and then ignores their customers

Tesla took almost a year to begin installing my solar system after I signed the purchase agreement. They insisted that I pay for the system before it was even installed. Provided no start up or owner instructions (other than told everything is online). Within 4 months of installation the entire system went down and took over 3 months to fix. They don't provide a customer service phone number to call and make it virtually impossible to contact them. My system has barely even produced half the power claimed in my purchase agreement. Now my system is down again (less than two years old) and has been down for almost 2 months with Tesla not responding to service request to fix it. DO NOT PURCHASE A TESLA SYSTEM. THEY ARE THIEVES AND LIARS. YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Arun | Fremont, CA | 01/04/2022

Support from Tesla Bailee

Awesome support by Bailee, I was given run around by 8 different agents, but Bailee from Tesla came on chat and took care of all the issues for me. 5 star support.

SK | Naperville, IL | 11/16/2021

My Tesla Solar panels got installed in Feb'21. The inverter for the panels broke in July. Since then my solar panels are down. Tesla customer support is one of the worst I have dealt with. They keep on putting me on hold for long hours and also finding the technician to fix the issue is a nightmare. Today (Nov 16th) the technician was suppose to come and fix the inverter but without telling me Tesla cancelled my appointment. After calling Tesla they told me they don't have a technician available in my area and my next appointment could now be in Feb'22. This is completely ridiculous. The reason I chose Tesla over other Solar panel providers is because Tesla is a market leader in EV but after this harrowing experience I will not recommend anyone to go with Tesla Solar product. Tesla as a company is doing fine for their EV but they are not ready for the prime time for their Solar products. Stay away from Tesla Solar if you need peace of mind and instead support your local Solar provider by installing their Solar product. I have wasted so much time and money that now I have no options except for me to wait for Tesla to schedule my service to fix the inverter. My experience with Tesla Solar is worst than a nightmare.

Deena C. | west hartford, CT | 11/10/2021

FABULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE

I had an issue with my gateway connecting to my solar panels that started over the summer. It ended up being a Wi-fi issue but Tesla was incredibly diligent in finding out the problem and troubleshooting it with me. In the end Cleveland from Tesla Powerwall support saved the day. He was patient, knowledgeable and great to work with.

Pete | Vernon, CT | 09/22/2021

Solar Roof Installation in CT

The process of dealing with Tesla in general is not ideal. The administrative side of their business (auto and home energy) is kind of a mess. However, the folks from the Rocky Hill Connecticut team that came out and actually installed our Solar and PowerWall system are amazing. My confidence in this whole process went from shaky to confident when this team showed up. They were able to answer many questions I had that were still not well answered at the time. The installation itself took 3 days + 1 day to remove our roof which I thought was really good for an integrated solution like the Solar Roof (and it looks awesome). They are very well coordinated, and exhibited true teamwork, and made the process enjoyable. This has been typical of my experience with Tesla that the Administrative side of the business is under valued and over worked. The folks that actually implemented this Solar and PowerWall installation are excellent and very experienced.

Happy Solar Guy | conroe, TX | 08/14/2021

Amazing product and pro installation

Fantastic performance year round and great upgrade!

RBBiberston | 07/30/2021

Quality

The quality of the panels, batteries and look of the system had a great impact on choosing Tesla Solar

Future for Me | MOORPARK, CA | 05/19/2021

Future For Me

Professional and courteous installation.

BarbaraE | Glendale, CA | 04/22/2021

Whole roof beauty

I did not want a stack of solar panels sitting on my roof. My best sun is in the front of my house. So I would have panels breaking up the curb appeal of my house. With the Solar Roof I have one seamless roof with nothing showing.