Tesla has started manufacturing its own residential solar panel at Gigafactory New York in Buffalo, with first deliveries set for the first quarter of 2026. The move comes amid a revival of the company's solar business, spurred by surging demand from impending policy changes. Company executives highlighted the panel's advanced aesthetics and shade performance during a recent earnings call.
Tesla announced on October 23, 2025, that it has begun production of a new residential solar panel at its Gigafactory New York facility in Buffalo. The panels are expected to ship to customers starting in Q1 2026. This development marks a renewed focus on solar manufacturing after years of neglect, during which Tesla's solar deployments dropped so low that the company stopped reporting them last year.
The revival includes the relaunch of a solar leasing product earlier this month, described by executives as an opportunistic response to market shifts. In Tesla's Q3 2025 conference call, Mike Snyder, vice president of energy and charging, attributed a surge in U.S. residential solar demand to "policy changes," specifically the anticipated end of the 30% federal tax credit for residential solar under the incoming Trump administration. Snyder stated: "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."
Snyder further detailed the new panel: "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."
Historically, the Buffalo factory, originally part of New York's "Buffalo Billion" initiative, was intended for solar production. Acquired by Tesla through its 2016 purchase of SolarCity, it briefly produced panels with Panasonic before shifting to solar roof tiles, Supercharger components, and data labeling operations. Tesla previously sourced panels from South Korea's Hanwha, rebranding them as its own. Recently, Tesla updated its website specs to 410 watts, matching Hanwha models, though it's unclear if this aligns with the new production.
The factory's solar efforts have faced challenges, including unmet job targets and product pivots, but recent commitments extend its lease to 2034, tied to investments like a $500 million Dojo supercomputer project.