Tesla Cuts Prices Of Solar Systems To Counter Drop In Federal Rebate

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Ringing in 2020 brought many changes to the US solar industry, including a drop in the US federal incentive for residential solar systems. The tax credit fell from 30% of the solar system cost to 26% effective January 1st, 2020. This first step-down in the tax credit is a small piece of recognition for just how much the financials for solar have improved over the last 10 years.

Tesla solar roof
A traditional solar panel install. Image courtesy: Tesla

Tesla made a serious push on the solar side of its business in 2019, including the introduction of a rental model that lets homeowners add solar to their home for just $100 down and a flat fee per month thereafter. To drive economies of scale, Tesla standardized its solar systems to four sizes.

This week, Tesla responded to the smaller federal incentive by slashing prices across its four options — small, medium, large, and extra large out-of-the-box solar systems. For example, the after-rebate price of Tesla’s small 3.8 kW solar panel system was slashed from $8,342 to $7,770, a 6.9% drop compared to the price of the system just last week.

Screenshot from Tesla.com/solar

The falling prices create what Tesla CEO Elon Musk called a money printer and make the systems even more financially attractive for those considering a rooftop solar system.

To further sweeten the deal, Tesla also beefed up its referral program for solar systems. Customers signing up for a new Tesla Solar system using a referral link will earn a $250 award. The person referring new customers to purchase or rent a new Tesla Solar system also gets a $250 award. It’s not cash, but does add a nice perk to the purchase of a system that’s already pretty cool by itself. The awards cannot be redeemed for cash, but can be used to purchase more Tesla swag, vehicles, or products.

If CleanTechnica has helped you learn about Tesla or Tesla’s Energy products, feel free to use my Tesla Referral code — https://ts.la/kyle623 — to get free Supercharging miles for purchasing a new Tesla vehicle or a $250 award after activating a new Tesla solar system. If you’re anything like me, the award serves as a nice bonus after doing something great and feels a lot like finding a toy in a box of cereal, back when that was still a thing. 


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Kyle Field

I'm a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long term holdings in Tesla, Lightning eMotors, Arcimoto, and SolarEdge.

Kyle Field has 1653 posts and counting. See all posts by Kyle Field