Tesla announces production of a new solar panel in the US

Tesla announced that it started to produce its own new solar panel at Gigafactory New York in Buffalo. The first deliveries are expected in Q1 2026.

After years of neglecting its solar business, Tesla has been reviving it over the last few months. At least temporarily.

Last year, Tesla’s solar deployment got so low that it even stopped reporting it.

However, earlier this month, Tesla relaunched its solar leasing product.

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The company didn’t hide the fact that this was an opportunistic move.

During Tesla’s Q3 conference call yesterday, Mike Snyder, Tesla’s VP of energy and charging, noted a surge in residential solar demand due to “policy changes”:

“We’ve also seen a surge in residential solar demand in the US due to policy changes, which we expect to continue into the first half of 2026, as we introduced a new solar lease product.”

He is referencing the Trump administration killing the 30% tax credit for residential solar at the end of the year.

Interestingly, Snyder also announced that Tesla is building a new solar panel in the US:

We also began production of our Tesla residential solar panel in our Buffalo factory, and we will be shipping that to customers starting Q1. The panel has industry-leading aesthetics and shade performance, and demonstrates our continued commitment to US manufacturing.

Tesla has previously claimed to have its own solar panels, but Panasonic briefly manufactured them at Tesla’s Gigafactory New York in Buffalo.

Later, they rebranded solar panels made by South Korea’s Hanwha.

Tesla recently upgraded the specs of its solar panels on its website from 405 to 410 watts:

However, the specs match almost exactly the Hanwha Qcells Q.PEAK DUO ML-G10+ (410W).

It’s unclear if these are the specs of the panel Snyder referred to or a different current offering.

The Strange History of Tesla Gigafactory New York

Tesla bringing back solar panel production to its Buffalo factory in 2025 would mark an interesting full-circle milestone for the storied plant, which has gone through many phases.

The project was initially supposed to produce solar panels, but it transitioned to solar roof tiles under Tesla, which failed to become a major product and resulted in the factory being underutilized.

It has since transitioned to mainly producing Supercharger components and housing Tesla’s data labeling team.

Here’s a quick bulletpoint history of Tesla’s Gigafactory New York:

The “Buffalo Billion” Era (Pre-Tesla)

• 2013: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces the “Buffalo Billion” initiative. The plan is to build a high-tech factory to be shared by solar manufacturer Silevo and LED lighting manufacturer Soraa.
• 2014: SolarCity (a solar installer co-founded by Elon Musk’s cousins) acquires Silevo. The plan for the factory is massively scaled up, pushing Soraa out. The state’s investment commitment increases to $750 million.
• 2015-2016: SolarCity begins to face significant financial debt, casting doubt on its ability to fulfill its promises for the factory.

The Tesla Acquisition & Solar Roof Promise

• October 2016: With SolarCity near bankruptcy, Elon Musk unveils the Tesla “Solar Roof” tile, a revolutionary new product. He announces this will be the flagship product manufactured at the Buffalo factory.
• November 2016: Tesla officially acquires SolarCity for approximately $2.6 billion, taking control of the still-under-construction Buffalo factory, which becomes known as “Gigafactory 2” (now “Giga New York”).
• December 2016: Tesla announces a partnership with Panasonic. Under the deal, Panasonic will manufacture traditional photovoltaic (PV) solar panels at the factory, helping to occupy the space and employ workers while Tesla works to ramp up the complex Solar Roof.

Operational Pivots & Product Diversification

• 2017: The factory is completed. Panasonic begins its production of traditional solar panels. Tesla begins a very slow and difficult production ramp of its Solar Roof tiles.
• 2018-2019: The factory struggles to meet its ambitious goals. Solar Roof production is far below initial projections, and Tesla repeatedly needs extensions on its 1,460-job commitment to the state.
• 2020: A year of major pivots.
  • Panasonic announces its exit from the factory, ceasing its solar panel production.
  • To fill the factory and meet job targets, Tesla adds new, non-solar product lines. This includes the assembly of electrical components for the Supercharger network (like power electronics and cabinets) and Prefabricated Supercharger Units (PSUs).
  • Tesla also establishes a large Autopilot data labeling team in Buffalo. These are desk jobs, not the “high-tech manufacturing” roles originally promised, but they count toward the employment target.
• End of 2020: Thanks to the diversified product lines and the data labeling team, Tesla finally meets its 1,460-employee commitment, avoiding state penalties.

The AI Pivot & Future Uncertainty

• January 2024: Tesla and NY officials announce a new $500 million investment to build a Dojo Supercomputer cluster at Giga New York. This project is intended to process the massive video data feed from Tesla’s vehicles to train its Full Self-Driving (FSD) AI.
• August 2024: Tesla signs a new lease agreement, extending its commitment to the factory until 2034. The deal is contingent on the $500M Dojo investment; failure to invest would reportedly double Tesla’s rent.

If you are in the US, the next few weeks are likely the last opportunity to secure a solar installation and take advantage of the federal tax credit, which is set to expire.

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