Last summer, Tesla began ” Project Titan,” an attempt to quietly replace defective solar-panel parts across the US, according to documents viewed by Business Insider.
The program primarily focused on connectors made by Amphenol and optimizers, which regulate the amount of energy and heat that flows to a solar panel. If a solar panel gets too hot, it can set on fire.
Project Titan came about a year before Walmart sued Tesla, claiming the company failed to manage and maintain solar panels on hundreds of Walmart roofs around the US according to their agreement, which stipulated that Tesla still owned all of the solar panels on Walmart’s roofs. Tesla’s negligence resulted in fires on the roofs of seven Walmart stores in states from Ohio to California, Walmart alleged in the lawsuit.
Amphenol did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
In its statement, Tesla described Project Titan as “a remediation effort to limit any impact the connector may have had, even though we are not aware of any equipment manufacturer or regulator that has determined any substantial hazard exists.”
Here’s everything we know about Project Titan.
Do you have any information about Project Titan or how Tesla tried to fix its solar problems? Are you a current or former Tesla employee with a story about the company you’d like to share? Email these reporters at llopez@businessinsider.com or mmatousek@businessinsider.com.