-November 15, 2021 at 8:14 a.m. Pacific Time
Tesla told employees that supply chain issues are now affecting its use of solar panels-causing project delays.
In the past year, there have been many talks about supply chain issues affecting Tesla's automotive business, but these issues have also affected its little-known solar business.
Electrek received an email from Tesla to solar employees last week warning them that they will postpone some installations:
"We confirmed with the supply chain team that some supply constraints will affect our ability to arrange photovoltaic retrofit installations."
Tesla expects installations this quarter will be affected by 3-4 MW, and pointed out that some installations may need to be rescheduled at the end of next month.
Tesla is praised for its proficiency in solving major supply chain issues that plague the auto industry because it has achieved growth this year, while most major automakers are in decline or stagnant.
With its solar business, its impact appears to be manageable. When Tesla is currently installing solar energy at a rate of 80-90 MW per quarter, the loss of 3-4 MW is not large.
Earlier this year, we reported that Tesla introduced a new, larger solar panel with a capacity of 420 watts. The company also made several major adjustments to its solar business, such as discontinuing its solar subscription business.
Tesla now also provides its complete solar and energy products "Tesla Energy Ecosystem" to third-party installers to accelerate deployment. For its own installations, the company has been trying to increase demand by updating the recommended plan.
Solar installations have increased significantly in the past year, and the increase in solar roof tiles has contributed more in the past few months. Earlier this month, Tesla also released new solar tiles with higher power capacity.
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Tesla is a transportation and energy company. It sells cars in the "Tesla Motors" division and stationary battery packs for household, commercial and utility scale projects in the "Tesla Energy" division.
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