Tesla raises $1.8B
Let's talk about Solar City.Their product is intended to be a solar roof, indistinguishable from a typical roof from street level. Costs look to be in the $50,000+ range. The marketing is that homeowners will not only drive electric vehicles, but go completely off grid by storing the energy collected into Tesla batteries.In order for this to make financial sense, there needs to be an ROI for the homeowner. So... how long will it take the homeowner to recoup that, say, $75,000 investment?I am currently spending about $125/month on electricity. That's $1,500 per year. Two Tesla's would run through about $1,000 [0] of electricity in the same year. That's $2,500 per year I'd spend on electricity to my grid operator.That's 30 years to break even.I could probably buy an equivalent roof-mounted system for half that, and the batteries, and see a return in 15 years. Is the aesthetic worth the longer term payoff?Or would Tesla see more uptake in new home construction where the cost of the roof can be amortized into the construction cost?I understand that Solar City has a different financing biz model, are they going to continue with that.[0] http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1090685_life-with-tesla-...