Elon Musk wants to sell you a solar roof...

[Mackin USA]

I like Musk but China is the dominate player IMO
Saw that a BIG firm filed BK this week - can't find the name...

2009 to 2010

Bankrupt, closed, acquired

    Advent Solar (emitter wrap-through Si) acquired by Applied Materials
    Applied Solar (solar roofing) acquired by Quercus Trust
    OptiSolar (a-Si on a grand scale) closed
    Ready Solar (PV installation) acquired by SunEdison
    Solasta (nano-coaxial solar) closed
    SV Solar (low-concentration PV) closed
    Senergen (depositing silane onto free-form metallurgical-grade Si substrates) closed
    Signet Solar (a-Si) bankrupt
    Sunfilm (a-Si) bankrupt
    Wakonda (GaAs) closed


2011

Bankrupt, closed

    EPV Solar (a-Si) bankrupt
    Evergreen (drawn Si) bankrupt
    Solyndra (CIGS) bankrupt
    SpectraWatt (c-Si) bankrupt
    Stirling Energy Systems (dish engine) bankrupt


Acquisition, sale

    Ascent Solar (CIGS) acquired by TFG Radiant
    Calyxo (CdTe) acquired by Solar Fields from Q.cells
    HelioVolt (CIGS) acquired by Korea's SK Innovation
    National Semiconductor Solar Magic (panel optimizers) exited systems business
    NetCrystal (silicon on flexible substrate) acquired by Solar Semiconductor
    Soliant (CPV) acquired by Emcore


2012

Bankrupt, closed

    Abound Solar (CdTe) bankrupt
    AQT (CIGS) closed
    Ampulse (thin silicon) closed
    Arise Technology (PV modules) bankrupt
    Azuray (microinverters) closed
    BP (c-Si panels) exits solar business
    Centrotherm (PV manufacturing equipment) bankrupt
    CSG (c-Si on glass) closed by Suntech
    Day4 Energy (cell interconnects) delisted from TSX exchange
    ECD (a-Si) bankrupt
    Energy Innovations (CPV) bankrupt
    Flexcell (a-Si roll-roll BIPV) closed
    GlobalWatt (solar) closed
    GreenVolts (CPV) closed
    Global Solar Energy (CIGS) closed
    G24i (DSCs) bankrupt in 2012, re-emerged as G24i Power with new investors
    Hoku (polysilicon) shut down its Idaho polysilicon production facility
    Inventux (a-Si) bankrupt
    Konarka (OSCs) bankrupt
    Odersun (CIGS) bankrupt
    Pramac (a-Si panels built with equipment from Oerlikon) insolvent
    Pairan (Germany inverters) insolvent
    Ralos (developer) bankrupt
    REC Wafer (c-Si) bankrupt
    Satcon (BoS) bankrupt
    Schott (c-Si) exits c-Si business
    Schuco (a-Si) shutting down its a-Si business
    Sencera (a-Si) closed
    Siliken (c-Si modules) closed
    Skyline Solar (LCPV) closed
    Siemens (CSP, inverters, BOS) divestment from solar
    Solar Millennium (developer) insolvent
    Solarhybrid (developer) insolvent
    Sovello (Q.cells, Evergreen, REC JV) bankrupt
    SolarDay (c-Si modules) insolvent
    Solar Power Industries (PV modules) bankrupt
    Soltecture (CIGS BIPV) bankrupt
    Sun Concept (developer) bankrupt


Acquisition, fire sale, restructuring

    Oelmaier (Germany inverters) insolvent, bought by agricultural supplier Lehner Agrar
    Q.Cells (c-Si) insolvent, acquired by South Korea's Hanwha
    Sharp (a-Si) backing away from a-Si, retiring 160 of its 320 megawatts in Japan
    Solibro (CIGS) Q-Cells unit acquired by China's Hanergy
    Solon (c-Si) acquired by UAE's Microsol 
    Scheuten Solar (BIPV) bankrupt, then acquired by Aikosolar
    SolFocus (CPV) layoffs, restructuring for sale
    Sunways (c-Si, inverters) bought by LDK, restructuring to focus on BIPV and storage


2013

Bankrupt, closed

    Bosch (c-Si PV module) exits module business
    Concentrator Optics (CPV) bankrupt
    Suntech Wuxi (c-Si) bankrupt


Acquisition, sale, restructuring

    Diehl (Germany inverters) inverter division sold to PE firm mutares AG
    ISET (CIGS) moving into "microsolar"
    MiaSolé (CIGS) acquired by China's Hanergy
    Nanosolar (CIGS) restructuring for sale
    NuvoSun (CIGS) acquired by Dow
    Twin Creeks (kerfless Si) acquired by GT Advanced Technology
    Wuerth Solar (installer) business turned over to BayWa

[rcjordan]

My roofer is currently quoting $2 sq ft turnkey if there is only one layer of old shingles and the pitch is walk-able.

[ergophobe]

Keep in mind this has always been a product intended to compete with premium products, not comp shingles. So you would compare to metal, slate or tile. According to Angie's List, those would be $6-$17/sf assuming a walkable pitch, but could go over $40/sf for high-end tiles

https://www.angieslist.com/articles/real-cost-new-roof.htm

This is a  Tesla S product, not a Model 3 - i.e. not aimed at the bottom or even average consumer.

On another angle, it's the most brilliant lead gen ever - generate massive hype for a product that 99% of consumers can't afford, launch it without pricing, get all kinds of people to ask for quotes, create massive database of people interested in solar. If price comes down or new product launches, market to them.