Solar City's solar rooftops to be placed on 5 million US homes

Elon Musk and Solar City continue on their way to supplying the earth with free energy.  Their most recent plan, to turn normal housing roofs into solar roofs, seems to have landed a concrete goal: convert 5 million rooftops.

Though the company has yet to reveal any price points or time frames, they are clear that by converting rooftops, home owners can avoid the hassle of planting panels on the roofs, directly.  Energy consumption can be witnessed and maintained through a smart phone app and the entire system can be seamlessly set up to charge your car, appliances, electric motorbikes and even help power the neighborhood.

“What [the company is] talking about is a paradigm shift, not just a small leap,” says Scott Franklin, owner of Lumos Solar, which specialises in solar panel architecture and design.  He acknowledges that the price shift of replacing a roof will be the biggest sticking point.

“SolarCity is known for being a low-cost, fast installer. Now they’re talking about developing an entirely new product and becoming roofers? In terms of cost, they’re going from selling solar leases to telling somebody they have to replace an entire roof. That’s a dramatic cost difference.”

Musk believes it is a common sense move.   "If your roof is nearing end-of-life, well, you've got to get a new roof anyway," Musk explained. "And so, why not have a solar roof that's better in many others ways as well?"

True; and in an August earnings call he explained the value of a battery company acquiring a solar company, likening their cohesive value to that of "peanut butter and jelly."

Musk has a way with words and his simplicity, along with the track record of his companies to deliver, makes for an exciting time for anyone that can understand him.  We are going solar.