I am shocked the problems people are facing with Tesla Solar isn't getting more publicity.
I got into a Solar City PPA at end of 2012 and at the time I didn't know how old the roof was on my house but Solar City at the time said the roof is in good shape and would last through the PPA term. Fast forward to now and the shingles are on their last legs with me having to replace some shingles that blew off and wood trim connected to the rood that is coming off.
I went through the Removal & Reinstallation (R&R) form, which was a Microsoft Forms implementation and basically just dumps data into a spreadsheet, and got no response of receiving my submission. Tried to resubmit and the form was not working at all. Called the customer support number then was told I was in the wrong department but was finally forwarded to a place where they submitted the correct form for me. I was told what I submitted was wrong, despite the website saying it was the right form. Fast forward a few days and I get email that the R&R would be able to be done for $4,800. I was shocked at the price. The whole point of getting the panels was to make use of clean energy and get a little bit of saving while doing so.
To add insult to injury several years back ice build-up due to the panels destroyed my front gutters and cost a decent amount to fix. All in all due to the age of my roof I'm left with the choice of piece by piece patching my roof, which would cost a lot more than a new roof long term, or just getting a new roof. It makes no sense for me to get a lifetime roof then risk Tesla screwing up the reinstall so I asked how to be done with my PPA and they said there is no way. I asked why can't I just pay a certain amount to be done with the PPA like pay the pre-pay amount and just have Tesla take the panels back. Once again they say that's not possible. I asked whether it makes sense to have irate customers versus an option to just pay out of the lease. Once again they say it's not possible. I point them to the section that talks about Defaulting and arbitration, which could result in Tesla terminating the PPA and getting the system back, and why if someone were to go through those lengths just to get rid of the system that you wouldn't just allow a smooth way to gracefully let a customer be done with the company. Auto leases offer this option.
After I almost died from the Model S due to Tesla incompetence for maintaining higher mileage vehicles and now this, I'm done with Tesla. I used to be such a big fan of the company. They just come across as underhanded now.