Tesla’s holding a special event at 5:30 PM PT today at Universal Studios in L.A., and we’re live on location to bring you al the news as it happens. Tesla will be unveiling their solar roofing product for the first time at this event, as well as the second generation of the Powerwall home energy battery, and perhaps more as well.
We’ll be bringing you the action from the event live as it happens starting right here at 5:30 PM PT, so tune in below to see things unfold.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20166:03 pmAnd that’s it, folks! As rumored, today’s announcements were about a new Powerwall 2 (with 2x the capacity of the original) for $5,500, and a new line of solar panels that look a whole lot like standard roofing tiles while being efficient and durable.
Thanks for tuning in
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:59 pmElon demonstrates their tile’s durability, playing a video of a weight dropping on various types of roof tiles. The terra cotta, and clay tiles shatter; the weight bounces right off Tesla’s
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:58 pmWhoa. They’ve even made “Tuscan Glass” cells that look more like clay tiles than shingles. They’re distant in this picture, but you can see them:
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:56 pmThe solar cells are designed to look different based on your angle, for solar efficiency. From the street, they’re opaque. From the sun’s angle, they’re transparent to allow more light through.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:55 pmHe points to another roof, which has a “slate glass” tiling pattern on the solar cells; these are designed to look a bit greyer, more like stone.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:54 pm“[The tiles are printed on with hydrographic printing]. Each tile is unique; no two roofs will be the same. It’s not just cookie cutter.. you take any two roofs, and they’ll look different.”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:53 pmHe’s pointing at solar panels on a nearby roof. They really do just look like roofing shingles
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:51 pmElon: Now, lets take a look at some of these roofs. How do we have a solar roof.. that’s better than a normal roof? That looks better, that insulates better, where the cost of roof + electricity is less than that of a normal roof?
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:50 pmElon: We’d like to introduce Powerwall 2. It’ll be $5500 — and will power lights, sockets and refrigerators of a 4 bedroom house for a full day.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:48 pm“The point that we’re at now — the sun it’s setting… we’re transitioning from the solar panels producing energy, to the powerwall, the battery pack”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:47 pm“We started Tesla as an electric car company, but it’s really to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:46 pm“I dont know if you know this — but all the houses around you… these are solar houses.”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:45 pm“Just like electric cars… originally, electric cars didn’t look good, and they had bad range. Something similar has to happen with solar. They need to become as appealing as electric cars have”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:45 pmElon: “I wanna start off by telling you the reason we’re doing this: we’re reaching record CO2 levels. Global warming is becoming a crisis, and we need to do something about that”
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:44 pmLyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, popped out for a second to introduce Elon
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:43 pmThat looks a whole lot like the rumors have suggested Powerwall 2 would look — boxy, more rectangular
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:41 pmI’m pretty sure one of the things they’re announcing tonight — the Powerwall 2 — is sitting like five feet behind the press area.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:37 pmTesla has also requested that no “pro grade” cameras are used by press tonight. They’ve done this previously at events — generally, the justification is that the stuff being shown is prototypes and not ready for super high res scrutiny. But, curiously, camera phones are fair game.
Thus, our super legit photo setup for the night:
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:33 pmAlriiight. So, this second press area is a bit far from the stage. But that’s okay. We’ll make it work!
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:30 pmLooks like we’re being shuttled off to a new press area, so the announcement miiiight be about to start… but we probably still have a few minutes before any news hits.
Darrell EtheringtonOctober 28, 20165:20 pmSurreal being in what is effectively a TV show garden party.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:20 pmWe’ve got about 10 minutes to go before the announcement starts (in theory). We’re cordoned off in a little press waiting area/backyard behind one of the Desperate Housewives houses.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:15 pmCuriously, Tesla is holding this event at Universal Studios — as in, the theme park with all the movie sets. We’re currently waiting for the event to start on Wisteria Lane, which I’m told is a street from Desperate Housewives. They’ve got the place set up like a street party.
Greg KumparakOctober 28, 20165:12 pmTesla’s announcement is scheduled to start at 5:30, but… well, Tesla stuff doesn’t always start on time. But we’re here!
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