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Tesla’s solar roof tiles cost the same as a nice roof, and you can preorder right now

Updated May 10th, 2017 5:35PM EDT
SolarCity Roof Tiles
Image: Tesla

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Tesla may be known for its insanely fast cars, but the company’s overarching goal is to become an innovative energy company that changes the way the world generates and uses energy. Indeed, this was the driving force behind the company’s recent decision to change its name from Tesla Motors to Tesla Inc.

Regarding Tesla’s energy ambitions, Elon Musk explained the following in part-two of Tesla’s master plan: “The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good.”

“By definition,” Musk later added, “we must at some point achieve a sustainable energy economy or we will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilization will collapse.”

That being the case, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise when Tesla last year acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion, a deal which Musk categorized as “blindly obvious.”

Earlier today, Musk tweeted that the advanced and incredibly sleek looking solar roof tiles he showed off a few months ago will be available to order later today.

The USA Today adds:

The tiles will convert sunlight into electricity and be offered in several styles. The “black glass smooth” and “textured” tiles will be available first, and the company will begin selling the “Tuscan” and “French slate” tiles in six months, he said.

“When you have this installed on your house you will have the best-looking roof in the neighborhood,” Musk said. “I think the aesthetics are that good.”

Tesla claims that its roof tiles are up to three times stronger than ordinary tiles you’d find on a standard house, which is why the company is offering users “the best warranty in the industry – the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first.”

If you want to get your hands on Tesla’s futuristic roof tiles, you’ll need to put down a refundable $1,000 as a deposit and the total cost will be about $20 per square foot.

If you hop on over to Tesla’s Solar Roof page, you can learn how much money you’ll save with a Solar Roof over the years. Notably, only 70% of a roof will include solar tiles, and customers can decide how they want to calibrate the mix between solar roof tiles and non-solar roof tiles.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.