Tesla is unveiling a third version of its solar roof this week, Elon Musk says
- Tesla will announce "version three" of its solar roof product on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday.
- The announcement came during the company's third-quarter earnings call following a surprise profit for the quarter, blowing past Wall Street's estimates.
- Earlier this year, Walmart sued Tesla, accusing its other solar panel products of causing fires at seven stores.
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Tesla plans to unveil a third version of its solar roof product, CEO Elon Musk said on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday evening.
"Tomorrow afternoon we will be releasing version three of the Tesla solar roof," the CEO said at the end of his prepared remarks. "I think this is a great product. Versions one and two we were still figuring things out version three is finally ready for the big time."
The announcement comes as Tesla's other solar-energy product, its more traditional solar panels, are under fierce scrutiny following a lawsuit from Walmart. The retailer claimed Tesla's solar panels caught fire on the roofs of seven stores across the US. Tesla has not responded to requests for comment about the suit since it was filed, but is required to respond to that Walmart by Friday.
"There's no money down and you instantly save on your utility bill and there's no long-term contract," Musk said later on the call. "It's really a no-brainer. Do you want something that prints money? And if it doesn't print money we'll fix it or take it back."
Musk also pointed to a recently released study by Zillow, a real-estate website, which said solar panels increase home values by about 4%.
Since Walmart's suit was filed, Business Insider reported the existence of a Tesla initiative called "Project Titan." The move sought to replace as many faulty Amphenol connectors in previously installed solar equipment as quickly - and quietly - as possible.
Tesla told Business Insider at the time that its software-monitoring applications found that a "small number" of the connectors experienced failures and disconnections higher than their standards allowed.