Tesla’s biggest foray into the home solar market sector came with its acquisition of Solar City back in 2016. This attempt to add something new to home solar power has yet to take off, according to a new report from the market analytics firm Wood Mackenzie.
Based on latest market segmentation analysis for the U.S., Sunrun stands as the biggest player, with an 11-percent market share. This is followed by Vivint Solar at 7.6 percent. In third place is Tesla (Solar City) with 6.3 percent. What is significant about these current standings is that three years ago, Tesla occupied first place with more market share greater than Sunrun and Vinit combined.
Tesla’s relationship with SunCity began when Tesla began supplying based battery packs with a high capacity for maximizing energy storage. With the SunCity system it is possible to store 30 percent of the electricity generated by a solar array. This led to Tesla buying SunCity for $2.6 billion plus taking on $3 billion of debt.
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When Tesla acquired SunCity this should have led to success, especially given that parts of the U.S. are offering a 30-percent tax credit for a home solar install. However, as Green Car Reports assesses the U.S. solar market is anticipated to grow at three percent by the end of 2019; in 2018 Tesla’s installations dropped 41 percent despite growth recorded by its competitors.
As to reasons for this, these appear to be multi-varied and include issues with manufacturing and costs, plus the way that the rival firms are marketing their products and offering leading deals.
