VSLR - Tesla's Relaunch of Solar Is Another Swing and Miss
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is making another last-gasp effort to save its solar business after CEO Elon Musk announced a relaunch over the weekend. Tesla will rent a solar system to customers in some states for as little as $50 per month and will sell a system for between $10,830 (3.8 kW) and $32,490 (11.4 kW) before tax incentives. On the surface, both seem like a decent deal, but Tesla hasn't done much right in solar over the last three years, so there's reason to be skeptical.
Solar installations have fallen nearly 90% since Tesla acquired SolarCity, and some investors (myself included) think the days of solar at Tesla are nearly done. The latest attempt to resuscitate Tesla's solar business seems simple enough, but there's no evidence it's going to work, and some parts of the new sales process seem downright strange. I don't think the latest rebrand will do anything to change Tesla's fundamental problems in solar.
Image source: Tesla.