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Tesla’s Grand Plans for SolarCity Burn a Key Israeli Solar Tech Firm

There's “no question” Elon Musk will go his own way, dropping inverters from SolarEdge in the process.

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By Tom Randall

August 4, 2016 at 4:38 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Pity the inverter makers.

Tesla Motors Inc. is buying SolarCity Corp., and that’s bad news for some suppliers of the biggest U.S. rooftop solar installer. Case in point: SolarEdge Technologies Inc., an Israeli company that provides a key component of solar systems, is going to lose out.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk likes to do things his own way, and making power inverters won't be an exception. Responsible for 10 percent of the total cost of installed rooftop solar, inverters convert direct-current electricity from solar panels and batteries into alternating current for homes and vehicles. During a call with investors on Wednesday, Musk revealed plans to build his own, which will be integrated with home batteries and rooftop solar systems. No more SolarEdge inverters.