This is why an owner put a solar roof on their Model Y after Tesla wouldn't
- A Tesla owner fit solar panels on the roof of his car
- With this solar panels, the car gains an extra 20 miles of range for every five hours of sun
- It adds about 6 kWh to the battery power
Published on Jan 17, 2024 at 4:10 AM (UTC-5)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jan 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM (UTC-5)
Edited by
Adam Gray
Tesla doesn’t currently offer solar panels for the Model Y, so this owner took it personally.
And since Tesla wouldn’t put a solar roof on his car, he did it himself.
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The owner of the car, who goes by somid3 on Reddit, doesn’t do half measures either.
Not only did he fit his Model Y with solar panels – he even created a website for it and gave it a name.
He gave the project a name, too.
He calls it ‘Beta One’.
According to details shared on the website he launched, DartSolar, he fitted a deployable solar roof that weighs less than 165 lbs (74 kg) and can retract when the car is moving.
Using 175-watt solar panels, Beta One can add 6 kWh to the EV per day, which translates to about 20 extra miles of range (32 kilometers) for every five hours of sun.
It’s unclear whether he’d actually sell one to prospective buyers, but he did come up with a price point.
Beta One costs around $4,000 and a Beta Two version is in the works.
The goal is to address the main issue with Beta One, the obvious elephant in the room: it’s too big.
With the best will in the world, it’s hard to imagine people willing to spend money on a solar roof that’s literally larger than the car.
We’ve seen solar-powered cars in the past, and then there’s the case of a former Tesla employee who created a solar-powered trailer for the Cybertruck.
However, these are aftermarket projects, and Tesla hasn’t actually launched any such project yet.
The key word is ‘yet’, because even though it’s not available yet, Tesla did say a solar roof option for the Cybertruck may be available in the future.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
