Launched to the market in 2020 and discontinued in 2026, the Tesla Solar Roof was innovative because of its design. Instead of placing bulky solar panels on the top of an existing roof, the roof itself was the solar system. It used tempered glass solar shingles that looked like high-end architectural roof tiles. However, it was dramatically more expensive than normal solar ($100K+ vs. $20K+), the installation was much more labor-intensive than Tesla expected, and Tesla badly underestimated maufacturing complexity.
