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Tesla's Solar Factory is Exporting Most of its Solar Cells

posted by martyb on Thursday May 16 2019, @06:29AM   
from the it's-over-MY-head dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Reuters:

The "great majority" of solar cells being produced at Tesla's factory in upstate New York are being sold overseas instead of being used in the company's trademark "Solar Roof" as originally intended, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

The exporting underscores the depth of Tesla's troubles in the U.S. solar business, which the electric car maker entered in 2016 with its controversial $2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity.

Tesla has only sporadically purchased solar cells produced by its partner in the factory, Panasonic Corp, according to a Buffalo solar factory employee speaking on condition of anonymity. The rest are going largely to foreign buyers, according to a Panasonic letter to U.S. Customs officials reviewed by Reuters.

Tesla's solar cells are being bought, but not by Americans.

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Original Submission

• Re:So? (Score: 2) by exaeta on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:16PM

  by exaeta (6957) on Thursday May 16 2019, @08:16PM (#844446) Homepage Journal

  I have experience with solar cells. They are much cheaper to transport than solar panels. By a facor of around 3 to 5. E.g. the cost of importing 100 solar cells is around the same as a 24-cell panel. The cells stack and can be transported easily, the panels are much less dense and heavier. If you have the ability to assemble panels yourself, it makes sense to do so as the full panel takes up a lot more volume. Buying cells makes more sense to assemble them locally and reduce transport cost to the end customer.

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