Tesla will cancel the increase in solar energy prices for some customers: legal documentation

Tesla is trying to reassure some solar energy buyers who say they faced a sharp rise in prices earlier this year, according to new submissions from the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California.

In a submission on Thursday, customers’ attorneys wrote: “Tesla has informed prosecutors that Tesla recently launched a program for customers who signed solar roof contracts before price changes in April 2021 to return those customers to their original prices (if subject to increase prices in April 2021). “

As of Friday afternoon, further details of this program were not visible Tesla’s solar websites nor Engage website for customers and advocates of the company. CNBC contacted the plaintiff’s and Tesla’s lawyers for additional details about the program. They did not respond immediately.

This spring, frustrated Tesla solar buyers sued the company after experiencing a surprising price increase.

Submissions in three separate lawsuits claimed that Tesla Solar customers had already signed contracts with Elon Musk’s electric vehicle and renewable energy company, and even prepared to install solar photovoltaics in their homes, when they were surprised by the sudden price increases that required additional payments for moving forward with your installations.

The price increases were not trivial. For example, the price of plaintiff Matthew Amans ’solar roof rose from about $ 72,000 under his original contract to about $ 146,000, according to the lawsuit.

These lawsuits were later merged into Amans v Tesla, Inc.

Tesla has at least doubled the prices of its solar installations earlier this year, and has asked customers who order solar panels or tiles to order a Powerwall system for storing energy in the house. Later, the CEO Discovered by Elon Musk that the company will not be able to make enough Powerwall to keep up with demand this year due to a lack of microchips.

All in all, solar energy remains a fairly small part of Tesla’s business. Tesla reported revenue from energy production and storage of $ 801 million Second quarter 2021, with revenue of $ 781 million for that division. The company generates no revenue from solar energy itself — the unit includes revenue from its lithium-ion battery storage systems, which range from household auxiliary batteries to giant utility systems.

By comparison, Tesla recorded $ 10.2 billion in car sales this quarter.

Here is the legal documentation.