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Musk Energy Plan Delivers Slow Payoff in Tesla, SolarCity Merger

  • Pairing solar and storage the key to $2.86 billion Tesla bid
  • Solar’s main subsidy, net metering, is blunted by storage
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Investors Digest Musk's Merger Plan

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Elon Musk’s plan for Tesla Motors Inc. to acquire SolarCity Corp. hinges on a symbiosis that doesn’t exist. At least not yet.

The key to the proposed $2.86 billion takeover is combining Tesla’s electric cars and wall-mounted battery units with SolarCity’s rooftop panels, letting homeowners store solar power to use at night. Here’s the catch: Creating this end-to-end energy company would negate the main financial incentive for rooftop panels.