Tesla Launches US Assembled Solar Panels

PVTIME – Tesla has updated its online configurator to launch a new solar panel, focusing primarily on its assembly at the Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York, USA. This new product release comes as a surprise given that the company has appeared to be downsizing its operations over the past two years.

Tesla’s solar energy business has gradually declined over the years. Since acquiring SolarCity in 2016, Tesla has never matched the scale of solar deployment achieved by its predecessor. The situation worsened in recent years, with Tesla halting project arrangements in numerous markets before ceasing publication of its solar deployment data entirely in 2024. The company then changed its strategy, operating as a supplier and launching Installer Days to distribute its hardware through third-party certified installers instead of its in-house teams.

However, a glimmer of hope emerged late last year when Tesla announced that it would resume solar panel production in Buffalo. The full specifications of the new TSP 420 module are now available on Tesla’s official website, marking the company’s fulfilment of a promise made nearly a decade ago to develop its own unique solar modules.

The most notable detail on the module’s datasheet is the declaration that it is assembled in Buffalo, New York, USA, with the note that it is proudly built by humans on Earth. This indicates that the solar cells are manufactured outside the USA, with Tesla undertaking panel assembly at the New York Gigafactory in Buffalo.

This assembly detail is still significant. The Buffalo Gigafactory was originally constructed for SolarCity, with funding from the State of New York, and was intended to become the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere. Following Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity, Panasonic took over production at the facility, but withdrew in 2020. Since then, the factory has primarily been used for manufacturing Supercharger components and processing Autopilot data labelling.