One Pittsburgh homeowner says a routine roof replacement turned into a months-long headache after workers removed 18 Tesla solar panels in July but never put them back.
Here's what to know
The complaint appeared in a post on Reddit's r/TeslaSolar community, where the original poster said they had Solar City-era panels and had paid Tesla to remove and reinstall them during a reroofing project.
The OP also said the roof was finished in a day, but the system stayed off the house for months afterward.
According to the post, getting a clear answer from Tesla required repeated calls and conversations. The homeowner wrote that it took "2 calls to find out the reinstallation has been sent to a subcontractors," followed by "another call after that to pry the name of the contractor out of the Tesla rep."
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The OP added that Tesla's latest update was that it would let them know when the subcontractor accepted the job. But still, OP was receiving invoices from Tesla.
Unfortunately, commenters said the delay didn't seem unique. One commenter wrote, "Even in California I waited a while. New roof in April, got inspected by Tesla in May. Didn't get installed until August."
Another commenter, also describing a personal experience, warned that "The east coast [for Tesla solar] is awful" and said their household was "locked in for 8 more years" and would have to pay "$12k to get out of the contract."
What can be done?
A reroofing project can leave panels offline at the very moment customers expect the process to be straightforward. The Reddit post also underscored how murky responsibility can become once a subcontractor is involved. One lesson from the post is to always clarify reinstallation details before panels come down for a roof replacement.
Shopping carefully before committing can also reduce the risk of a costly arrangement. With EnergySage's help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations, while connecting them with vetted installers.
Plus, EnergySage's solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state.
Where can I learn more?
These Tesla stories offer more perspective on the service and contractor problems described in the Pittsburgh solar dispute.
• Tesla has tried an AI customer-service fix as complaints about support piled up.
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