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Elon Musk Abandoned Solar Power on Earth

Elon Musk spent $2.6 billion buying SolarCity in 2016. Ten years later, Tesla’s solar business has shrunk so much that competitors don’t even bother mentioning it. This isn’t a strategic shift. It’s a retreat. And the smart money already knew it was coming.

What’s Actually Going On

Tesla used to be one of the biggest names in rooftop solar. The SolarCity deal was supposed to make Tesla a full energy company, not just a car company. Musk told shareholders solar would be the future. That vision never came together.

According to Tesla’s own earnings reports, solar deployments fell from 345 megawatts in Q2 2021 to just 41 megawatts in Q4 2024. That’s an 88% drop in three years. Meanwhile, the U.S. solar market overall grew to 32.4 gigawatts of new capacity in 2023, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Tesla’s share of that market? Barely a rounding error at this point.

Now Musk is talking about collecting solar power from space and beaming it down to Earth. He’s also deep into AI, robotics, and Starlink. The man who once called rooftop solar a pillar of Earth’s energy future has quietly walked away from it. The industry he once claimed to lead barely noticed he left.

The Real Story Nobody Wants to Tell

Here’s my take. The SolarCity deal was never really about solar. It was about using Tesla shareholders’ money to bail out a struggling company run by Musk’s cousins. Shareholders and the SEC pushed back hard. The lawsuits went on for years. Tesla investors eventually settled, but not before losing real money on a deal that served one family more than it served the company.

The business case for rooftop solar has also gotten harder, not easier. Installation costs have stayed stubbornly high. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average installed cost of a residential solar system in the U.S. was $3.90 per watt in 2023, down only 6% from the prior year, even as the cost of the panels themselves dropped far faster. Labor and permitting eat the margin every time.

Tesla’s Solar Roof product, the one that was supposed to replace your entire roof with built-in solar tiles, has been a mess by any honest measure. The company installed far fewer Solar Roofs than it ever projected. Customers faced long waits, surprise price increases after signing contracts, and installation problems that stretched on for months. Class action lawsuits followed. That’s not a product launch. That’s a warning sign.

Meanwhile, companies that kept their heads down and actually built real solar businesses took over. According to Wood Mackenzie, Sunrun controlled about 13% of the U.S. residential solar market in 2024, while Tesla’s share had fallen to low single digits. Musk’s entry into solar didn’t help consumers. It added noise and then disappeared.

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What This Means for You

If you own Tesla stock, pay attention to the split inside this company. Solar is a drag. Energy storage is the opposite story. Tesla’s energy division posted record revenue in 2024, driven almost entirely by Megapacks and Powerwalls, not panels. Musk is feeding the storage business. He’s letting the solar business starve. Know which one your investment depends on.

If you’re a homeowner thinking about solar, Musk’s exit should not stop you. The solar industry doesn’t need Tesla to grow. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. is on track to get 30% of its electricity from solar by 2035. That market is growing with or without Elon. Compare quotes from multiple installers, use platforms like EnergySage to find competitive pricing, and don’t assume the biggest brand name delivers the best result. Often it doesn’t.

Here’s what I would do. I’d watch what Musk is actually betting his own money on. He’s betting on storage at grid scale, AI, and putting satellites in orbit. Not putting panels on your roof. If you want to follow where the real growth is happening in energy, look at utility solar and battery storage companies, not residential rooftop plays. That’s where capital is moving in 2026.

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The Bottom Line

Elon Musk didn’t fail at solar because solar is a bad idea. He failed because he bought a troubled company to solve a personal problem and dressed it up as a grand vision. The solar industry kept growing without him. That’s the real story. Now he wants to capture solar power from orbit and beam it down to Earth. I’ll believe it when the first gigawatt hits the grid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Elon Musk really give up on solar power on Earth?

The data says yes. According to Tesla’s earnings reports, solar deployments collapsed from 345 MW in Q2 2021 to 41 MW in Q4 2024, an 88% decline. Musk has shifted his focus to energy storage, AI, and space projects, leaving terrestrial rooftop solar with almost no attention or investment inside Tesla.

What happened to the Tesla Solar Roof product?

Tesla Solar Roof, which was supposed to replace traditional roofing with solar tiles, fell far short of its installation projections. Customers reported long wait times, unexpected price hikes after signing contracts, and installation problems. Class action lawsuits were filed. Tesla still lists the product but has clearly deprioritized it in favor of battery storage products like the Powerwall and Megapack.

Should I still consider going solar at home even though Tesla stepped back?

Absolutely. Tesla’s retreat doesn’t change the economics of home solar. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. installed 32.4 gigawatts of solar in 2023 and demand keeps rising. Companies like Sunrun, Enphase, and thousands of local installers are still actively competing for your business, often with better pricing and service than Tesla ever delivered.

Is Elon Musk pursuing solar power from space instead?

Musk has floated the idea of space-based solar collection, where panels in orbit capture sunlight and transmit power down to Earth. No concrete plans have been announced through Tesla or SpaceX. The European Space Agency and other research groups are running early experiments, but commercial delivery of space-based solar is at minimum a decade away from being real.

Who leads the U.S. residential solar market now?

Sunrun held approximately 13% of the U.S. residential solar market in 2024, according to Wood Mackenzie, making it the clear market leader. Enphase Energy leads in microinverter technology. Tesla’s share has dropped to low single digits. The market is now spread across dozens of strong regional and national installers, which is actually better for consumers because competition keeps pricing honest.

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