Tesla Energy hopes to save US$150 million in operating cost over the next year and speed up the introduction of its integrated solar roof plus energy storage product after more than 85% of shareholders “overwhelmingly approved” its $2.6-billion acquisition of SolarCity, Greentech Media reports.
The deal “will create the world’s only integrated sustainable energy company, from energy generation to storage to transportation,” stated a November 1 Tesla blog post.
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“With these products, our customers will have an entire sustainable energy ecosystem, compris[ing] products whose benefits go far beyond simply being sustainable. They will be products that like Model S and Model X [Tesla’s early electric vehicles], you want to show your friends and family because they are so much better than anything you ever had before.”
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk told a Q&A session the solar roof product will cost no more than a standard roof, and may cost less, once Tesla starts volume production in the summer. “The electricity is just a bonus,” he said.
“The merger also gives a green light to Tesla’s new solar production partnership with Panasonic,” Greentech notes. “Under the agreement, Panasonic would begin making PV solar cells and modules at SolarCity’s $900 million solar plant in Buffalo, New York in mid-2017. Assuming the deal is finalized, it would give Tesla additional financial support for its ambitious business plans.”
