Solar panels

[Suskis]

I am interested in the solar panels option (+15 miles for free each day is incredible! CT will be the first production veichle to go on forever by itself!). How much do you think adding them as an option in the configurator could cost?

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[Crissa]

I'm hoping for ~$1k. The parts shouldn't cost more than that.

They'll need custom printed cell strips that will fit on the tonneau slats and a specific MPPT charging system to handle the variable voltage input that solar provides. There's a company in San Jose not far from their factory that makes such things...

-Crissa

 

[Suskis]

This seems overly optimistic. Extra electronics will be needed to handle the panels (that I think will be made using Tesla Solar Tiles). Maybe 10k is too much but 1k is nothing

 

[BillyGee]

This seems overly optimistic. Extra electronics will be needed to handle the panels (that I think will be made using Tesla Solar Tiles). Maybe 10k is too much but 1k is nothing

From what I understand the Tesla design strategy is that the rectifiers for charging are located in the car itself, so as long as the cable draws are run it should be pretty easy.

If I had to guess, it's going to be in the $5k ballpark. Tesla charges $2k for different wheels, so I feel like something in that range is likely.

 

[pagesix1536]

What about the fold out panels? I was understanding that there would be optional additional panels that could provide up to 35 miles per day. I imagine those would fold out from the sides of the bed to form what looks like wings on the sides of the vault.

 

[Ogre]

One very big caveat. 15 miles per day is likely max. Typical will likely be 5-10, maybe less if you don’t think when parking. Often you aren’t going to want to park in full Sun.

it’s an awesome option for the right situation but it’s not likely enough to eliminate the cord unless you really drive very little.

No idea what it’ll cost, but I suspect between $2k and 5k. The closer to $2k it is the more likely I’ll add it.

 

[ajdelange]

One very big caveat. 15 miles per day is likely max. Typical will likely be 5-10, maybe less if you don’t think when parking. Often you aren’t going to want to park in full Sun.

You are if you want to collect any solar energy! Fifteen miles is going to be realizable in the summer in those few parts of the country that have 7 hours of full sun equivalent by those that park their trucks on an inclined turntable that rotates to follow the sun. For the rest of us the idea is totally impractical but it is such a neat gadget that we will buy it anyway. Tesla makes cells, the electronics are pretty trivial and the array can't be that big. Integrating into a rollup toneau is probably the biggest challenge. It's probably something Tesla can add for a couple of hundred bucks and sell to us suckers for a couple of thousand.

Given that they are going to put solar controller/charger into the truck I really hope that they will equip this charger with multiple additional inputs into which portable arrays could be plugged.

 

[Ogre]

You are if you want to collect any solar energy!

Park in the Sun to collect just enough energy to cool the cabin down from being parked in the sun for hours at a time.

I could have used it this past week while camping for certain. At home it’ll be under cover for sure.

if they have additional inputs that would be awesome and make the investment much more worth while.

 

[ajdelange]

if they have additional inputs that would be awesome and make the investment much more worth while.

If they have that, even if you have to buy the solar toneau to get it, I think it would represent real value added. If you could plug in a half a kW or a kW of auxiliary panels that could cover your phantom drain and allow you to take enough (from the bed outlets) to run small lights and appliances at a camp site for days.

 

[Crissa]

Yeah, a decent MPPT system can take a decent range of input, which would make the truck far more agnostic to irs charging sources.

-Crissa

 

[ldjessee]

I budgeted $2,000 for the solar option. Yes, $1,000 for the parts is probably enough, but...

I want this to be profitable so they offer it on more than the CyberTruck.

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