Tesla Energy

A few days later someone came out to do a pre-inspection to make sure we were ready and would pass the city inspection, and on the day of the inspection Alexander arrived to do a final check and accompany the inspector when he arrived. Alexander and Robert were more than willing to respond to my follow-up texts. I am so appreciative of the staff, the easy process, and the attention to my particular needs. I'd recommend Tesla solar to all my friends and family.

I now have a whole house backup which is very nice as we had power go out often during storms. The Powerball now switches over almost instantly where one doesn't notice power loss. Obviously one's power bill will depend on many factors, but I've had 10-12$ bills for the past few hot summer months. My decision weighed heavily on battery backup and energy independence. I also talked to other homeowners who went solar and they were similarly telling me how happy they were that they invested in solar. Obviously, one always thinks about costs, however 6 months into solar, I am happy I invested in it as I have seen the benefits first hand. All while trying to do my part to help the planet. If you want to go solar with Tesla, use my referral link to get $300 dollars towards it: **.

Then about a month ago Tesla came back and started communicating with me really well, answering my questions within an hour of asking via text message. I don't know Diana's last name but she was excellent. In fact, the communications leading up the install got almost TOO good. I was getting a text message and email almost daily!!

Day of Install came (of course, raining) and the Phoenix Team showed up (they told me to mention them, and I'm happy to) and they were really great. They did a good job and when they were done everything was gone you'd never know anyone was here. Because of the rain they had to put the panels up the next day, but if it had been nice I really think they would have gotten everything done that day. While my new system can't export electricity to the grid until after the utility company finishes the paper work they were able to turn the system on immediately and I've now been off grid for 2 days!

Some things to keep in mind: I will say that Tesla's solar product line and what they do/do not support is changing by the minute, definitely get things clear with your project supervisor. For instance, I have 5 skylights and originally was told they would replace them for me. Then was told they don't do that service anymore. But eventually they honored it because of when I originally put in my inquiry.

Also their engineers will probably design the roof around protrusions without suggesting they be moved, as they don't want to handle the moving of them, such as vent pipes. So definitely suggest those things and get them taken care of by another roofing contractor before the install starts and it could mean more usable roof real estate. I also got upgraded to the latest tiles that are a higher wattage, so the size of my system went up. It's bleeding edge tech and so is changing all the time. So far, I have been very impressed with the people and the technology and would highly recommend Tesla Energy.

If you select Tesla Solar, my advice is to plan on being the project manager. Stay on top of all the details, be proactive to keep things just like you want them and moving along. Unfortunately, due to the great price and product, the Tesla project advisors are overloaded and seem to be too busy to help you at times. They rarely respond in a timely fashion. But when they do, they are friendly and helpful. The long spans and dropped balls along the way can be frustrating. Being hands on will help you stay on track and get even more out of the investment. Believe me, the outcome is worth the effort.

To be fair, I had the pleasure of meeting several Tesla employees and technicians that were incredibly helpful and experts in their trade. The installers and quality assurance engineering team members were top notch. Overall, I believe Tesla is ahead of the curve when it comes to making solar energy accessible, practical and even delightful! Highly recommended. Our full adventure is chronicled here: **.

I reached out to the design team via chat (the only option by the way and you can't call them) and was told by a rude employee, SETH, that it was not their problem with the Powerwall and even though the system was installed less than 36 hours ago, there was nothing I could do. Now mind you, no final approval from the building department or the power company has been granted yet, and the installation isn't complete because the poles that are mounted to the floor to protect the Powerwall in the garage from a car striking it accidentally was not installed during the installation and another appointment would have to be made (I had to reach out and ask about this missing pole).

I asked for a supervisor to call me and was told that no supervisor would call me back. I was told I have to wait a year and then apply for another Powerwall, but THEY DON'T INSTALL STANDALONE POWERWALL UNITS, and don't know when they will be doing this. So now I have a system which was just installed, cannot supply the needs of the house even overnight with minimal electrical usage, and they won't just come back to install another battery. What kind of a company is this where they say everything will work out fine and less than 36 hours later you find out that it won't? Be careful of using Tesla and if you're interested in solar, make sure you ask all these questions up front or you may get stuck with something that is inadequate.

Tesla then came for a couple of home inspections and told us the roof was in great condition. They did not say anything about the house orientation, roof slope, or trees around us. They just informed us that we will need 36 panels will give us more than enough energy. We proceeded with the installation and paid a little over $25,000 in full. We received our true up electric bill in August, we were shocked. Our bill was about $3100. Given that we were averaging $330/month and given that we were paying monthly percentage as directed by the energy bill, the bill means that we are pretty much not getting any benefits from solar at all.

Ever since we have been battling with Tesla to resolve this issue. We have spent numerous chats on the app with customer support and talked to them about 6 times, for over an hour each time with no progress on identifying the problem or Tesla initiating any type of solution to support the service we paid fully for. We asked a technician from the energy company to evaluate our system. After examining the meter and other givens, he told us that we have next to no output. He also noted that our usage was actually the bare minimal as well at the time. He speculated that the system Tesla set up is on strings and that there are few inverters, which means when there is shading, there is a system power shut down power. This was the first time we ever heard of a string inverter setup.

We spoke to tesla, who eventually sent out a technician and charged us $200. The technician concluded that the system is fine but confirmed that we have 4 inverters, and the shading will cause an issue. He also said that he felt there were setup issues and promised to talk to supervisor and get back to us. That never happened. We called multiple times and received no call back. We kept calling and when we finally received customer support, they said will not do anything about it because of the shading. The service rep was argumentative and extremely unhelpful.

We called again and got the issue escalated. The person who handled escalation sent a note saying that the shading is the problem and closed the case and would not communicate with us again. So, we hired another company engineer to do an assessment on the setup. The report finding are summarized as such:(1) We have a string setup, panel grouping, which needed micro inverters, because of the shading so as not to lose production. (2) The slope of the house does not provide enough sunlight because of rotation. Tesla should have angled the panels differently to capture more sun. (3) Tesla is used areas of low radiance to place the panels causing less production when there is other available space on the roof that would optimize output.

Tesla never told us about shading or micro inverters. There was no discussion of potential risks from shading. We shared the report with Tesla and did not receive a reply to our email in 3 weeks. We called 2 more times into Tesla support. One time we waited 45 min and then got disconnected/hung-up. We called again and finally got through to someone. They insisted that it is the shading. We said we needed an engineer to look at the setup and evaluate the situation. Tesla is not being helpful.

As obvious from the long and tedious description that Tesla overpromised, did not deliver and is refusing to take responsibility and offer solutions. We literally paid $25,000 for nothing. We are not getting any benefits. The trees around our house have been there for many years. They were there the two times Tesla came for a home inspection. We went with Tesla because we trusted that they have the right engineers and tools to forecast our needs based on the data provided and be able to place the panels and set them up in a way that maximized production. None of that took place. This is a complete disappointment.

In addition to the incompetent service they supplied, the customer service is horrible. We have spent endless hours on the phone and on chat with them. They show no concern or advocacy for their customers of any sort. I would not recommend Tesla solar to anyone. We had SunPower previously and they delivered on their promises, and we have not had a single issue with them for over 6 years.

Also we got solar along with the home we bought 3 yrs ago and had called to move the system under my name at that time. Guess what? It was still not moved 2 years ago. I called in. They said they moved it at that time. I talked to a representative today to address my current problem and they had not moved the entire system to my name yet!!! 3 years and they still can't fix it. I have no words to how they are conducting their business and deal with customers in a rude way. I had rude customer support from them at least 2 times in the past 4 months. Very disappointed with Tesla. Will not buy anything solar things from them again...

Then contacted Tesla via email that the roof was done and the panels were ready to be reinstalled. Crickets! No email confirming, they received my email, no call...nothing. Email is the only way you can contact them. I dialed the phone number listed on their removal email and it states 'the number is not a working number at Tesla'.

I've sent a few emails regarding the need for reinstall, with no contact back. I've had my panels stacked on my deck since mid-July 2022, 4-months. I'm worried the harsh winds we can get in the front range will blow and damage some of the panels. BTW, I still make my payments and my higher electric bill. I understand there have been workman shortages, but please let me know what's going on! I don't know where to go from here. Tesla, please take care of your obligation.