Tesla has ended Solar Roof orders, according to Electrek, after stopping sales of the company’s glass solar tiles and instructing certified installers that it will no longer supply the product. The decision marks a notable retreat for the roof technology Tesla introduced nearly a decade ago, while the company’s energy-storage business continues to post growth, supported by utility-scale Megapack deployments.
Solar Roof had been closely tied to Tesla’s consumer-facing energy push, but the latest reporting suggests the main constraint was economics rather than demand—an issue that appears to have affected reported solar deployments and the product’s long-term viability.
Key takeaways
- Price move: The report does not provide any market-price reaction data for Tesla shares.
- Catalyst: Tesla stopped taking Solar Roof orders as of Aug. 20 and told certified installers it will no longer supply the tiles, Electrek reported.
- Business signal: Tesla has not reported a solar deployment figure since the fourth quarter of 2023, pointing to a shift away from solar tiles.
- What’s still working: Tesla’s energy generation and storage revenue rose 13% year over year to about $3.1 billion in the second quarter, driven by Megapack.
- Implication: Investors will likely focus on whether storage growth can offset cooling elsewhere in the energy segment as solar becomes less visible in reporting.
What happened to Tesla’s Solar Roof
Electrek reported that Tesla halted Solar Roof ordering on Aug. 20. The company also told its network of certified installers that it would stop supplying the glass solar tiles, and it redirected its Solar Roof web page to conventional solar panels.
The Solar Roof product—unveiled in October 2016 and marketed as integrating solar generation into a roof that looks like standard shingles—was supported by ambitious production expectations from Tesla leadership. On Tesla’s first-quarter 2020 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk referenced an aspiration to install at a rate of 1,000 systems per week within roughly a year or even by the end of that year.
The economic issues behind the shutdown
The Solar Roof closure appears less connected to customer interest and more tied to cost structure and scaling. Tesla marketed the tiles as cheaper than replacing a roof plus adding traditional solar panels, but real-world installation quotes reportedly came in far higher.
TechCrunch reported quotes reaching $200,000 for a single installation. Tesla also raised prices sharply in 2021, including changes that affected some customers who had already signed contracts, according to the article’s account.
Another factor highlighted in the reporting is that Solar Roof tiles were unique to the system, requiring custom manufacturing equipment. As volumes failed to ramp as expected, fixed costs per unit increased—an issue that can become decisive when a product cannot achieve sufficient scale.
Tesla’s own quarterly reporting reflected the pressure on solar volumes. The company reported solar-related deployment figures as part of a combined solar line item—megawatts deployed across solar panels and tiles—until the fourth quarter of 2023. By then, the figure had fallen to 41 megawatts, down 59% year over year and lower for a fourth consecutive quarter.
Electrek also said, citing a source close to the program, that Tesla internally concluded the product is not financially viable. Tesla has not publicly detailed the rationale, and any additional explanation may come when the company reports results next, likely in October.
Energy storage continues to grow as solar fades from focus
For shareholders, the Solar Roof shutdown may not directly alter the near-term trajectory of Tesla’s energy segment because the segment’s growth has increasingly been driven by storage rather than rooftop solar.
In the second quarter of 2026, Tesla’s energy generation and storage revenue rose 13% year over year to about $3.1 billion, representing about 11% of total company revenue, the article said. Tesla attributed the increase to higher Megapack deployments, partially offset by lower Megapack prices and fewer Powerwall deployments in its filing.
Deployment data supports that storage remains the operational engine. Tesla deployed 13.5 gigawatt-hours of energy storage in the second quarter, reported as its second-best quarter ever for that metric.
Meanwhile, solar reporting appears to have been discontinued. The 41-megawatt deployment figure in the fourth quarter of 2023 appears to be the last disclosed solar deployment number. The article states that the solar line item later disappeared from Tesla’s first-quarter 2024 update and has not been shown in 10 consecutive quarterly updates. Storage continues to receive quarterly deployment figures, while solar does not.
That does not necessarily imply Tesla is abandoning solar entirely. Tesla began manufacturing a new retrofit solar panel in 2025, according to the company’s quarterly filing. Separately, in July, Tesla applied for Texas tax incentives tied to a proposed $10.1 billion solar cell factory, targeting commercial operations for 2029. Still, the energy strategy described in the reporting centers primarily on storage—Megapack, Megablock, and a Megafactory under construction near Houston.
Why the move could matter for investors
Shutting down Solar Roof orders after nearly a decade can be read as a shift in discipline for Tesla’s energy business. The company kept the product alive through multiple years of pricing resets and production experimentation, but the more scalable part of the energy segment—Megapack—has driven the most recent growth and revenue gains.
From an investment standpoint, the key question is whether storage growth can sustain the energy segment’s overall momentum as other components cool. The article acknowledges that growth in the energy business has cooled to 13% and that Powerwall deployments are falling, while Megapack prices are also coming down. With storage carrying the segment’s results, investors will be watching whether volume growth continues to outpace pricing pressure.
Tesla’s Solar Roof story also underscores a broader execution challenge: turning a consumer-branded hardware concept into an economically scalable product. Nearly six years after Musk’s installation-rate ambition, the company is moving on from the glass tile approach—potentially reallocating attention and resources toward parts of the energy portfolio that have already demonstrated scale.
Looking ahead, investors will likely focus on Tesla’s next earnings report for any further clarification on the energy segment mix, as well as guidance on Megapack deployment pace and pricing trends. Additional attention will also fall on the company’s solar-related manufacturing plans and any regulatory or permitting progress tied to the proposed Texas solar cell facility.
