It’s official: After Tesla shareholders approved the acquisition of SolarCity, the new company is now an unequivocal sun-to-vehicle energy firm. And Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk didn’t take long to make his first big announcement as head of this new enterprise. 
 
 Minutes after shareholders approved the deal—about 85 percent of them voted yes—Musk told the crowd that he had just returned from a meeting with his new solar engineering team. Tesla’s new solar roof product, he proclaimed, will actually cost less to manufacture and install than a traditional roof—even before savings from the power bill. “Electricity,” Musk said, “is just a bonus.” 
 
 If Musk’s claims prove true, this could be a real turning point in the evolution of solar power. The rooftop shingles he unveiled just a few weeks ago are something to behold: They’re made of textured glass and are virtually indistinguishable from high-end roofing products. They also transform light into power for your home and your electric car. 
 
 “So the basic proposition will be: Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and—by the way—generates electricity?” Musk said. “Why would you get anything else?” 
 
 Make no mistake: The new shingles will still be a premium product, at least when they first roll out. The terra cotta and slate roofs Tesla mimicked are among the most expensive roofing materials on the market—costing as much as 20 times more than cheap asphalt shingles. 
 
 Much of the cost savings Musk is anticipating comes from shipping the materials. Traditional roofing materials are brittle, heavy, and bulky. Shipping costs are high, as is the quantity lost to breakage. The new tempered-glass roof tiles, engineered in Tesla’s new automotive and solar glass division, weigh as little as a fifth of current products and are considerably easier to ship, Musk said. 
 
 When Musk first unveiled the tiles on Oct. 28, the pricing details were murkier. He said that someone who buys a Tesla roof when the product is released next summer will save money compared with someone who buys a comparable traditional roof, plus electricity from the grid. But on a large house over a long period of time, the value of that electricity could exceed $100,000. The new target he unveiled today is considerably cheaper, and it's considerably more promising for the future of rooftop solar power. 
 
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 Elon Musk with one of the solar-roof shingles. Tesla Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the solar roof that will be sold under a combined Tesla-SolarCity will most likely cost less to install than a normal roof. 
 
 Tesla and SolarCity shareholders voted in favor of the merger, a deal worth $2 billion, on Thursday. Musk unveiled a new solar-roof product in late October to show his vision for a combined company with SolarCity, but he did not provide specifics on how much the product would cost. 
 
 On Thursday after the shareholder vote, Musk said the solar roof was likely to cost less than a normal roof. 
 
 "It's looking quite promising that a solar roof will actually cost less than a normal roof before you even take the value of electricity into account," he said. "So the basic proposition would be, 'Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less, and by the way generates electricity?' It's like, why would you get anything else?" 
 
 Musk added that the price he was speaking to factored in the cost of labor. 
 
 During a November 1 conference call, SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive said the companies were aiming for 40 cents a watt, which would put it in line with the competition. 
 
 Musk unveiled four solar-shingle options for a solar roof at the October 28 event. The solar roof is designed to incorporate glass developed by Tesla's new glass division. 
 
 Tesla plans to produce the solar cells for the roof with Panasonic at a manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York.
– Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company's new solar roof will actually cost less for homeowners to install than a regular roof, Bloomberg reports. “So the basic proposition will be: Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and—by the way—generates electricity?” Musk says. “Why would you get anything else?” According to Business Insider, Musk made the surprising pronouncement after 85% of Tesla shareholders approved a $2 billion merger with solar-energy specialist SolarCity on Thursday. Musk wants solar roofs to be "as appealing as electric cars," Fortune reports. Musk first unveiled Tesla's new solar shingles last month but didn't specify a cost. They're made of tempered glass and specially designed solar film and, according to Bloomberg, are "virtually indistinguishable from high-end roofing products." And therein lies the catch: When Musk says they'll cost less than a traditional roof, he's talking about the fancy terra cotta and slate roofs on which they were modeled, not asphalt roofs, which can be 20 times cheaper. Still, Bloomberg states the Tesla solar roof "could be a real turning point in the evolution of solar power."