The first installations of Tesla's solar roof will begin in the US in June, other markets such as Australia are targeted for next year. Credit:Tesla The cost of Tesla's solar roof is critical for determining whether it will be a niche product for the wealthy or the key to unlocking a residential solar market that has been slowing in the US. The pricing unveiled on Wednesday was less than many analysts were expecting. When taking into account the energy savings and lifetime cost of ownership (Tesla guarantees it will outlast your home) it's a fairly affordable option. "The pricing is better than I expected, better than everyone expected," said Hugh Bromley, a solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance who had been skeptical about the potential market impact of the new product. Tesla's all-in cost for active solar tiles is about $US42 per square foot, "significantly below" BNEF's prior estimate of $US68 per square foot, Bromley said. Inactive tiles will cost $US11 per square foot, and Tesla says to expect an overall average of roughly $US22 per square foot. The pricing Tesla's solar shingles may open doors to wealthy American suburbs, where aesthetics matter and visible solar panels are sometimes prohibited. But they're not yet for everyone.

The solar roof still comes with a considerable upfront price tag. Looking at the US, Tesla's home market and the first place where the roofs will be sold, it means that replacing the roof of a 185-square metre home in New York state-with 40 per cent coverage of active solar tiles and battery backup for night-time use-would cost about $US50,000 after federal tax credits. It would pay for itself with $US64,000 of energy produced over 30 years, according to Tesla's website calculator, but that requires a bigger mortgage and some long-term planning. In this case, a Tesla solar roof is not only more expensive upfront than a traditional roof - contradicting a claim Musk made last year - but it's potentially more expensive upfront than a traditional roof with solar panels on top, too. That's because a Tesla solar roof may require more square metres of active solar generation to satisfy the same energy needs as traditional solar panels. Even though the Panasonic solar cells Tesla uses are some of the best in the industry, they must be spaced further apart than on traditional panels to account for the edges of each shingle, BNEF's Bromley said. Tesla didn't disclose the electricity output per square foot or the price per watt of power capacity. All told, Bromley figured, a traditional solar setup might be 30 per cent cheaper than the Tesla roof. But Tesla's will look better and come with a lifetime warranty, whereas normal roofs are typically replaced every few decades. "A 30 per cent premium could well be acceptable," Bromley said, especially for eager customers like Tesla's car-buyers who are willing to pay $US35,000 for a base version of its upcoming Model 3.

Entering Australia in 2018 What is the future that we should have? What do we think the world should look like? Elon Musk Tesla has been adopting an Apple Store strategy for solar power since acquiring SolarCity last year for $US2 billion. The idea is to cut down on SolarCity's high costs of identifying new customers, by attracting them passively through its upscale auto stores in shopping malls and other high-traffic locations. Initial trials found the new strategy was 50 to 100 per cent more effective than at the best non-Tesla locations selling SolarCity products. Tesla has already halted SolarCity's door-to-door sales of solar panels, and over the next six months more than 70 stores will be staffed for solar sales. Production will begin at Tesla's Fremont solar plant in California and then shift this summer to its new factory in Buffalo, New York, with additional investments from Tesla's partner, Panasonic. Musk said initial sales will be limited by manufacturing capacity.

As production ramps up into 2018, sales will begin in the UK, Australia, and other locations, along with the introduction of sculpted terracotta and slate versions of the solar roof. The tempered glass in Tesla's tiles is designed to conform to the toughest durability standards for both roofs and solar products, according to Tesla. The roof itself is guaranteed to outlast your home, while the power production of the solar cells is covered under a 30 year warranty, according to the company's website. Glass, as Musk likes to point out, has a "quasi-infinite" lifetime, though the underlying solar cell will degrade over time. Asphalt of tomorrow

The basic premise of Tesla's strategy is to make solar ownership more attractive and affordable by eliminating the redundancy of installing both a roof and solar panels. Tesla will manage the entire process of solar roof installation, including removal of existing roofs, design, permits, installation and maintenance. The company estimates that each installation will take about a week. "What is the future that we should have?" Musk asked on a call with reporters. "What do we think the world should look like?" In the future, he declares, every rooftop should be beautiful, and they all should produce electricity. The pricing must come down further to make that vision a reality. But it's not so far off, and the price of both batteries and solar cells continues to plummet as those industries scale up globally. Loading

If these new solar roof prices are simply Tesla's opening bid to its early adopters, glass solar shingles may indeed be the asphalt of tomorrow. Bloomberg