Up on the roof: Tesla unveils textured, energy-generating glass tiles

‘We need to make solar panels as appealing as electric cars,’ says CEO Musk

Green energy has just gone fashion-forward.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk performed another big “reveal” on Oct. 28 during a Hollywood sunset, announcing that his company would begin selling energy-generating, textured glass roof tiles.

“The whole purpose of Tesla is to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy,” Musk said during the announcement.

“We need to make solar panels as appealing as electric cars have become. It needs to be beautiful, affordable, and seamlessly integrated,” he added. “If all of those things are true, why would you go any other direction?”

The glass tiles contain photovoltaic cells that are invisible from the street, according to Tesla. When integrated with Tesla’s Powerwall energy storage units—the latest version of which Musk also introduced at the Los Angeles event—the tiles are intended to power a home.

It’s all part of Musk’s so-called “integrated future,” which would include an electric car, home-based battery, and solar roof.

Tesla’s Powerwall 2 has 14 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of storage and 7kWh peak power draw, enough to supply a day’s worth of electricity for a four-bedroom house. It also carries a price tag of US$5,500.

Tesla says the glass tiles—which come in four styles—are “tough as steel,” and can be outfitted with heating elements to melt snow in colder locales. “It’s never going to wear out,” Musk said during his presentation. “It’s made of quartz. It has a quasi-infinite lifetime.”

Logistically speaking, Tesla still has some hurdles to clear with its solar tiles, including:

• Details on pricing and availability;
• Energy generation capability (there’s no promise that the solar roof will take the average home off the grid); and
• A feasible installation solution.

Still, some are intrigued by Tesla’s elegant approach to sustainable energy.

“In order to make his vision move forward, Musk is using design with a big D,” Andy Ogden, industrial design chair at Pasadena, CA-based ArtCenter College of Design, tells Wired. “He’s thinking about an overall strategy, in how these things interact and support each other, so there’s some synergy.”

In the world's conversation about energy, one point is beyond debate: Energy makes a vital contribution to people's quality of life, to society and to human progress. This is true today, and it will remain true in the future. That's why Energy Matters was created. We believe it's important to equip people with unbiased information so they may form opinions, join the conversation and feel confidence in the work and accomplishments of the energy sector. Energy Matters is an initiative that provides transparent information and perspective on energy. Here, we'll cover a range of topics: the scale of global energy; the ways energy is sourced and produced; current energy technology; forthcoming innovations; the world's future energy needs; and the sustainable sources of energy that will fill them. Because energy matters to everyone, we hope you'll rely on Energy Matters as an ongoing source of balanced information.