Reports indicate lengthy wait times for the Powerwall and Solar Roof. Tesla is facing blowback after numerous reports of delayed solar and energy storage installations. The company was excoriated in a recent Business Insider story for failing to meet delivery timelines for the Solar Roof and Powerwall home battery product. Several current and former Tesla salespeople quoted in the article said that customers are facing long and uncertain wait times, while the company instructed some employees to avoid fielding Solar Roof inquiries due its limited availability. Last week’s USA Today article was a bit more sanguine, but still observed “slow production rates have meant too few Powerwalls are available for customers interested in the three-year-old product.” Meanwhile, solar tiles for non-employee rooftops are just starting to get deployed two years after their introduction. The article went on to say that the $6,000 Tesla Powerwall currently has a six- to nine-month wait time, and the Solar Roof has a delivery date of 2019 or beyond.

Still, CTO JB Straubel insisted that Tesla is committed to solar and called the Powerwall a “big success,” particularly in Australia and Europe. Despite the apparent delays, many homeowners are still willing to pay the $10,000 to $15,000 to add a Powerwall to an existing PV installation. Accessory devices, control systems, metering and software add cost to the battery system and make installation much more complex than for solar alone, according to Barry Cinnamon of Cinnamon Solar. Buzz in the online forums Experiences reported in online forums back up employee claims of Tesla delays. Twitter user Seth Brody, who put a deposit down on a Tesla solar and Powerwall solution, said he recently received a call from the company saying all shipments and installs have been “ halted indefinitely. ” The Tesla Motor Club page […]