Climate Changed
Now Tesla Isn't Even Among Top Two Players in U.S. Rooftop Solar
- Sunrun, Vivint installed more in 4Q than Tesla did in 1Q
- Tesla has pulled back on marketing its rooftop solar panels
A solar panel is displayed on a wall at the new Tesla Inc. showroom in New York.
Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A year ago, Tesla Inc. lost its throne as king of the U.S. rooftop solar business to Sunrun Inc. Now, it may get relegated to third place.
Tesla reported on Wednesday that it deployed just 47 megawatts in the first quarter, down from 73 megawatts a year earlier and the fewest the company has installed in a single quarter since it bought SolarCity Corp. in late 2016. Rivals Sunrun and Vivint Solar Inc. haven’t posted their latest earnings results yet, but they deployed 115 megawatts and 54 megawatts, respectively, in the fourth quarter.