Tesla Ramps Up Solarglass Roof, Against First Quarter Earnings

While most Tesla Inc. Stock analysts are super focused on Tesla car deliveries, and bearish analysts are likely expecting Tesla 2020 first quarter earnings to miss, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is taking the Solar side of the business to another higher level.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been tweeting almost daily about Tesla Solarglass Roof. Tesla is ramping up installations of its solar tile roofs in the San Francisco Bay area and will eventually roll out to Europe and China, according to CEO Elon Musk, who, in a series of tweets, provided the first substantial update since the company launched the third iteration of its product in October.

According to Musk, Tesla is presently working on many Bay Area installations and expansion into Europe and China is Tesla’ top priority at the moment.

Many Bay Area installations are ongoing now

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9, 2020

Tesla will be announcing more about Solar tile roof expansion into China and Europe very soon, according to CEO Elon Musk.

I think Tesla analysts are in for a wild ride come Q1 report. Most analysts are focused on the Q1 car deliveries number.

One analyst from RBC Capital with a price target of $530, Joseph Spak, says:

“The point of this exercise is really to show how much is currently embedded in the current stock price, and how much higher the assumptions would need to be in order to justify adding at these levels, on a fundamental basis. If you believe these are achievable, you should consider the stock”.

While another analyst from Barclays, Brian Johnson, recently raised the price target on Tesla to $300.00 (from $200.00) while maintaining a Underweight rating without any further explanation for his targets.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk last year said the company would begin installations in the “coming weeks” and that it hopes to ramp production to as many as 1,000 new roofs per week. He also once said: “version three is finally ready for the big time.”.

Tesla To Help Alaska Reduce Reliance on Fossil-Fuel Power Plants

Alaska has a non-binding goal to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Hydropower being Alaska’s largest source of electricity generated from renewable resources.

Despite Alaska’s high latitude and long winter nights, solar energy plays a role in off-grid applications, especially in remote locations. Solar thermal technologies, primarily for hot water and building heat, and solar photovoltaic panels are used to tap solar energy when it is available, reducing the need for other fuels. Alaska’s largest solar farm came online in October 2018, a nearly 1,800-solar panel, 563-kilowatt project located south of Fairbanks.

According to Electrek: Homer Electric Association (HEA), a member-owned electric utility cooperative based in Alaska, announced that it’s working with Tesla to deploy a big battery:

The BESS will be capable of storing 93 MWh (Megawatt hours) of electrical power that can be delivered to the grid at a rate of 46.5 MWs per hour. The BESS will allow HEA to meet its reliability requirements without having to burn additional fuel. This will result in greater system efficiencies, lower greenhouse gas production, and reduced power outages.

The BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) is going to be installed at the Soldotna Generation Plant.

HEA says that the battery is going to enable them to use more renewable energy and less power from plants burning fossil fuels:

The BESS also provides a great side benefit of opening the door to renewable intermittent energy projects that would have otherwise stretched current thermal generation assets.

The new project is expected to be in service in fall 2021.

Tesla Put Up Tents in Fremont, California To Hide Its ‘solar test house’

Tesla is putting up more tents in Fremont, this time to cover its solar test houses, According to the newly granted building permits, attached below.

Tesla building permit for canopies over solar test structures in Fremont, Calif.
City of Fremont, public records

This time they’re “canopy covers” over their solar test structures, according to the above newly issued building permits reviewed by CNBC.

Tesla started taking orders for version 3 of its solar roof tiles, now known as the Solarglass Roof, in October, with CEO Elon Musk saying at the time that some installations were already underway.

Musk said in October that Tesla had the goal of getting to 1,000 solar roofs installed per week as quickly as possible, acknowledging that the company would not be producing the Solarglass roof at that rate for at least several months.

Placing canopies over the solar test structures in Fremont should help Tesla evade prying eyes and conduct its research and development without rain delays. The permits say the tents will be removed in two months.