Following the announcement of Version 3 of its Solarglass Roof in October, Tesla is seeking roofers to install its latest solar product.
Tesla has listed a number of openings for roofing positions on its careers page, including locations in California, Florida, Texas and Nevada. The postings are a clear indicator that the company is ramping up installation as well as production of the new product.
The roofing positions will be responsible for completing residential reroofs and Solarglass Roof installations. “Solarglass Roofer” positions require zero to three years of roofing experience while the “Solarglass Lead Roofer” positions require three to five years of experience in the industry. Both recommend being familiar with various types of roofs, including metal, tile and shingle.
When discussing Version 3 of the roof in October, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company would install the roofs themselves, but is also going to hire third-party contractors for installation.
First announced on Oct. 25, Version 3 of Tesla’s Solarglass Roof uses different materials and fewer components than previous versions. The roof has solar cells integrated into tiles as opposed to using traditional solar panels. Musk said Tesla was still “framing up” with Versions 1 and 2 of the roof, but believes Version 3 is “ready for the big time.”
The roof doesn’t require blank glass tiles, eliminating the need to cut tiles at the jobsite. Musk said the target installation time for the Solarglass Roofs is eight hours, and expects to produce 1,000 Solarglass Roof systems per week.
Much like the rest of the construction industry, Tesla will have to contend with the workforce shortage if it expects to meet its production and installation goals. Not only that, but its roofers will need to learn the ins-and-outs of installing a roofing system that blends solar and conventional roofing.
In addition to hiring roofers, Tesla is seeking technicians, engineers, trainers and crew leads for its Solarglass teams. It is holding hiring events at various locations on both the East Coast and West Coast on Dec. 7.
The new solar roof is expected to cost $33,950 for a 2,000-square-foot roof with 10w of solar capacity after incentives and comes with a 25-year warranty.
“It has the cost of roofing a house in addition to the cost of solar cells, however, we’ve been able to achieve with Version 3 a price point that is less than what the average roof costs plus solar panels,” Musk said.
