Tesla settles class action lawsuit on Solar Roof price increase

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Tesla is settling a class action lawsuit for $6 million, brought upon by thousands of Solar Roof customers who were hit with unexpected after-sale price increases in 2021.

By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.

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Zoomed-out view of a house with shiny shingles on top, which is the Solar Roof, and there is a white Tesla Model S in the driveway with one of two garage doors open and a Tesla Powerwall battery installed outside the house

Image: Tesla

Tesla has agreed to settle on a class action lawsuit over sudden price increases the company pushed on Solar Roof buyers in 2021, CNBC reports. Tesla said it will pay just over $6 million in the settlement, which involves thousands of customers who had committed to purchasing the novel roof-replacing solar shingles product.

According to the court filing, the settlement class included 8,636 customers, 6,307 of whom had canceled their orders. About 1,600 of the remaining customers completed their full contract at the original prices, and the rest are either scheduled for install or are pending. One of the lead plaintiffs had their Tesla contract increase from about $72,000 to $146,000, while others were offered a free Powerwall home battery to follow through with the contract.

Tesla’s Solar Roof was an exciting and unconventional product when it was introduced in 2016, especially compared to typical solar panels installed on top of roofs. At the time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk touted the solar shingles “as good or better” than conventional roof panels. The Solar Roof was developed alongside SolarCity, a company owned by Musk’s cousin that was later acquired by Tesla. Today, Solar Roof and Powerwall are part of Tesla Energy.

In 2021, thousands of Solar Roof customers were met with sudden and unexpected price increases, with Tesla pushing some customers to accept new contracts that were more than double the original cost. Musk acknowledged that the company made “significant mistakes” and that price jumps were due to varied roof complexities and increased costs.

Several Solar Roof customers told The Verge about taking out loans as well as wasting time and money on getting local permits to remove trees to prepare for the installation. Customers created petitions to get Tesla to honor the original prices, and at least one had filed a complaint with their state attorney general’s office, citing “abandonment of contract, extortion and deliberate misguidance and misinformation” on Tesla’s part.

The class action lawsuit was first filed in May 2021. Tesla has only installed 3,000 Solar Roofs total as of the beginning of 2023.

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