SolarCity Reviews

5 yrs ago paid in full for then Solar City to install roof panels. Company bought out by Elon Musk from his cousin / became Tesla Solar. Septem2018 company contacted us saying our panels needed to be replaced due to electrical problems. Have called so many times in last 12 months to no avail. Cannot get crew here in Waikoloa, Hi when replacements are in a warehouse in Kona. They do not help in anyway except I tell us there are no installers or replacement employees on this island!! So 14 months later we are no where and paying high utility bills every month. Our worry is that this new Tesla Solar may just claim bankruptcy & only do large projects!

Two stars, because I have solar! I signed up for solar city, when it first became a lease program . I was so excited to get the panels on my roof, and the more the better! I was told, my lease payment will remain the same, Until it was paid off.! Each year it increases..!Wasn’t ready for that one ! I was also told , The company said they would take care of the panels, including cleaning , or if needed, any hazardous particles limbs, interference with the panels was just a phone call away . Absolutely not true! I myself, was allowed to use a ladder, to climb on my roof and wash them off, 63-year-old female, with arthritis ! One year, lease payment goes up! Every year increase! When I contacted them to let them know my panels were very dirty, I was given numbers to call, for companies to come out and clean the panels . I was to pay for that ? Very disappointing ! And shocked! I was also told, I would be getting, substantial rebates from my electric company. Not so. Being a lease, Solar city , receives them ! My rebate, once a year, from solar city, is a tank a gas and stopping for pizza ! I i’m glad I jumped on the bandwagon? I got my panels. I just wish I would have waited a little longer to find a local company, and a sales person Who is actually more truthful ! Solar is worth it. If you go with the right company. And if you can, go local. I’m really not sorry I did this. I just wish I would’ve had, a truthful, sales person ! Good customer service makes all the difference in the world. Do your research ! Ask your friends and neighbors.

I have two systems installed on the roof from Solar City; one where I have paid outright and the other one where I pay monthly. The one where I paid outright has not been performing as per SolarCity commitment and design but their technical team keeps on saying "no everything is OK". It seems they poorly designed the initial system and/or used inferior panels/inverter but are unwilling to do anything about it because there is no financial incentive for them anymore as they received all the money upfront. I expected a much better customer service and response from Tesla but they are a disappointment so far. So much for all the high flying claims of Tesla and their CEO/management.

It will take Tesla/SolarCity 7 months to repair/replace a system under warranty. NOT ACCEPTABLE, but having bought the system outright I'm left with few options. Essentially no generation since Sept, replace date just now set for first week in April. Sale and installation 5 years ago by SolarCity was great. System failed with Ground Fault error in September. Tech support immediately said panels would need to be replaced; estimate 1 week to re-engineer as new panels are more efficient, 2 weeks to come out are replace. Three months later after calling in to complain every other week, we finally have new design. Same as old, less one panel. Then call, call, and call to get installation schedule. Finally, email says 4 months out. Unbelievable!

When we purchased our house we had no choice because solar city was the only company our builder was contracted with. We signed a 20 yr lease contract. When we moved in we thought the solar was “on” but when I called PG&E I was told it’s not turned on and to contact the company who installed my solar. I was so confused because I didn’t have this issue with my previous house solar. Called the Solar Sales Rep we spoke to before our house was built. He gave me the contact info of another rep assigned in that area. Called her and she informed me that she submitted the docs and waiting for PG&E. After a week I called PG&E again but was told that they are still waiting for the solar company. I was going back and forth for almost a month. At last my solar was activated after 2 months of calling PG&E and the Solar City. Next, I noticed birds in my roof so I called the rep and he informed me that there should be netting on the panels and if not that they can put it when needed. So I called when I saw birds underneath the panels, unfortunately the rep is not with Solar City anymore... and when I called the customer service number it said wait time is more than an hour!! I don’t have all that time waiting on the phone..I’m very disappointed with this company and with my builder who is contracted with them which in turn didn’t give us a choice of which Solar Company to go with.

When my system was installed in 2015 the installation was outstanding! The customer service was outstanding and very responsive....BUT.....let some time go by. all the good employees quit, Elon Musk bought the company, customer service disappeared, I had signed up the day Musk announced the Tesla Powerwall @ 10 KWH for $3,500....I never heard another word after Tesla questioned me on my system. Then after 2 years and calling several times, I finally got an answer that "Oh, that was phase #1 and it's been discontinued. Noe the 10 KWH Powerwall is $13.500?? My system has NEVER performed as promised. They audit every 2 year but I always end up paying Edison for power even though they "Claim" it's Zero Net Metering. Bottom line....Very disappointed with Solar City and Tesla! Was going to buy a Tesla but after this poor service. I'll never buy a Tesla.. Think Elon Musk is losing his mind......Sad...

signed contract Nov. 2013. system installed Jan 2014 after redoing all the contracted paperwork because they had me sign outdated forms for SCE telling me they just received the new forms yet they had been posted on the SCE website before I even started the process. System not activated till July 2017. They kept telling me that first I needed a new meter - which I already had for over a year then that they were waiting for SCE approval. after several months I contacted SCE Net metering and found that they were waiting for one piece of paperwork that solar city swore they had submitted. talked again 3 days later & paperwork received told 2-3 days until turn on. Contacted solar city customer service and was old it would take another 4-6 weeks before I could go outside and turn the switch. So many other lies. Told I would qualify for a Calif rebate but because of the delay it didn't happen. Told my tax break for solar would cover the $10k but didn't say anything about must not have any liability for payment so got stuck with a $10k balloon payment. Have never produced enough to decrease my to zero level and actually had to pay $1.3K last annual billing to cover the electricity used. Had to have them come out to repair a roof leak caused by installation. also their internet monitoring is too far from my modem to connect so I cant monitor my generation and have no idea if the system is even working properly. have been very dissatisfied and even told them to take the damn thin off my roof after 6 months of no activation due to their screw ups. needless to say the refused as I had signed a "contract".

Company just changed name from Solar City to Tesla. Always been owned by Tesla , now that his name is on it he really needs to address the poor support because it will rub off on his other business ventures or he will sell it off and get rid of it. July 2018 System is not reporting it activity correctly( Data unavailable ). Called Tech support and worked with technician who said the bridge card inside the inverter has gone bad. Was told that we would get a call (within 24 hour) to schedule someone to come out and deal with the problem. Two day later (7/27/18) no call. Called tech support back gave them the case number and they then offered to schedule a tech to come out on 8/30/18 that is over a month later. The inverter seems to be working just not communicating with their gateway unit which is inside next to the router. I am now checking the power company net meter every day to see what is being fed back to the grid. system installed 2.5 year ago and had been working fine. If net meter shows system working then not to bad. Will be interesting how thing are billed. Support is poor, long waits on hold getting to talk with somebody, longer waits getting someone out to address a real problem. NOT GOOD!!!

I have never met a friendlier, but more incompetent group of people in my life. I had to take off from work 11 times for installation to be completed. Their in-house communication was terrible. The people who answered or called on the phone never had any idea what the service reps were doing and saying. Now I am trying to sell my house, we are no longer living there, we have no internet service to report the power generated, we have explained this to them, and I'm still getting notices that the monitor is off and I need to restore it. I just ignore them at this point. When the house sells, I hope the new buyer has not read these reviews and just takes over the lease contract from me.

At first, my experience with Tesla/solar city was not that bad… The sales representative was great. I was originally quoted a solar plan that would eliminate my electric bill. I decided to move forward and get the solar panel system, upon completing a site survey it was found that I needed to address some issues with my roof structure. I completed the roof structure as told so a full system could be installed across the entire roof instead of a partial system. I contact my sales rep and he forwards that information to the design department, I have another site survey completed to confirm that the structure work was completed and is satisfactory. A few days later my sales rep calls me and says that the design can’t be completed due to other roofing issues, which were scheduled to be replaced as part of the sale. It was agreed that Tesla would replace my roof where the panels would be as long as my rafter beams were addressed which they were. I contacted sungevity,which is another solar company, and I am currently in the process of acquiring solar panels with them.

When asked how the number of panels to be installed was determined, my partner said, "They ran out of roof." I can explain how my system works but it makes no sense to anyone. Solar City put me on a 20 year contract, and PGE (OR) put me on a 15 year contract. I'm wondering how that's going to work out in 15 years, should I live so long. I pay for energy generated, and I pay an average $21 to PGE because I have two meters. The Solar City contract is tricky. They left a lot out in the sales pitch. They said the system would generate X per year, but it generates X plus 2000 Kwh. I can't use that much power. I discussed this with PGE and Solar City and got nowhere. I found that PGE was paying Solar City for the energy I used. PGE said I could change that, and I did. PGE now pays me for what I use. By having PGE pay me, I am supposed to pay some obscure concern $75 a month. I have not, and nobody is complaining yet. Because of the unclear nature of the contract, I don't know how it will end. Solar City said they would analyse output after a year and maybe take a panel or two off, and they have not. My panels were installed in June, the beginning of the warm season. My air conditioner ran a lot, and I received a payment from PGE, which was nice. Because my panels produce so much, when the warm sunny season is about over, I have had an average of 3000 Kwh in reserve, to be used when the sun doesn't shine. I soon found it necessary to use electric heat to bring down the excess hours, which also meant a larger payment from PGE. My excess hours go away on the 1st of April every year, and my 1st year donation to charity via PGE was 900 hours. This last year my donation was 391 hours, thanks to having panels off of the roof. I get nothing out of that as I don't need any deductions (BTW I did not take any solar credits). As of this writing, my system is 4 years old. In the last year I had a Community Action concern do an energy audit and fix some problems to save energy. About the time they were done, I noticed some red discoloration running down the back of my home. I called the CA outfit and asked if they dropped a dead body in my attic. They came out the next day and found that it wasn't them, but a leak in the roof from the solar panels. I sent an email to Solar City/Tesla about the leak. All of the panels had to be removed, and a new back part of the roof was replaced. There were some confusing times to get it done, but it got done. The panels were replaced, and the power is generating again. For what it cost to do this repair, Tesla is NEVER going to make up for it by what I'm paying for power. While the panels were off, I suggested they keep a few off, but it fell on deaf ears. I'm surprised they didn't just stop the contract as it was NOT making Tesla any money. Didn't happen. I have not had a serious problem with Tesla. The men that came were courteous and efficient. Nothing is perfect but it all got done. When PGE pays me, it can range from $150 to $320. I don't get a 1099 either. I have paid as little as $18 and adding $21 to PGE, it's $39, but the income to me will easily offset that. I'm surprised that Tesla has taken on Solar City's problems, and for what? To get customers to get one of its batteries? One tech mentioned it, but because of the contract, I dismissed it. I've filed complaints with the local PUC, and that was enlightening. Also complained to BBB and to Oregon State Attorney General. Part of my complaint to AG made the rounds, and I even had a call from WSJ about it. Don't know what came of that. Would I do it again? Knowing how it has turned out, and if it would turn out the same, yes. Otherwise, no. Would I recommend Solar City to someone else? No. I told a neighbor I would not tell him my company because if it all went wrong, I didn't want him mad at me. So, no referrals. It's been interesting, but solar is a viable answer. Next time, a DIY project may be an alternative.

The installation and all went quite well. I'm still paying as much if not more for services. I just received my annual adjustment and once I add all the numbers I'm no better off than I was without the system. I was told that I would not have much of a bill if any at all. That is not true. I make a monthly payment and in the hole. I've asked for more tiles to offset but they say that I'm good just where I am. How they reach their conclusion I don't know but I was told that if things did not improve, they could simply add tiles. I'm leasing and have heard about better deals from other individuals. Either I change company or continue to pay high electric cost. I was promised and received a poor bill of goods. I should have done a better job comparing but I believed what they were saying. The system did not work properly at first but, to my knowledge, it is working well but I am still paying more. They are not the best in customer service. I wrote to everyone that I had an email for and including just to the company.

SolarCity is excellent until something goes wrong! We have now been 10 days without solar power. Our solar went out on 11-16-17 and we were not notified of that until 11-24-17. So much for SolarCity monitoring your system 24/7. One of our invertors is bad and a new one has been ordered which will take 7 - 14 days to arrive, but not necessarily 7 - 14 days from today or when it was ordered on the 25th??? This is what I was told by Customer Service. I will be notified when it arrives and then we can schedule a technician to come out and install it. We were promised by the salesperson that our system was under constant observation so that we would be notified immediately if a problem was detected. According to Customer Service 8 days is a reasonable time to contact us...?? They are willing to reimburse us for our loss, but that will only take place on our review anniversary??? Which happens to be Sept. 2018!! So basically thanks for nothing! We really have buyers remorse and wish we hadn't signed a 20 year contract with Solar City!! We've had service for quite a few years, with no issues. Just lucky I guess now that I've read other reviews. I am so angry I just had to tell other prospective customers to read the fine print in your contract so you know that what the salesman promises is not in the contract!

I am a SolarCity customer for approximately a year-and-a-half my system went down and they call me let me know it was not working instead of sending out a rep or a serviceman to correct the problem they asked me on my day off to troubleshoot the problem with them over the phone by opening up my my fuse box and playing with switches and buttons on the inverter for somebody who is not handy or has no knowledge of any form electricity it is not a fun place to be thinking that you will be electrocuted on top of that I had to pay the electric company $600 SolarCity said to me after 2 years they will do an evaluation and if I'm owed any money it would give it back to me two years later I am not a bank where I can lay out money for SolarCity and still continue to make my monthly payments to them as well as the electric company I feel that is improper this service policy is terrible and this will be the first and only and Everlast house I ever do with this company

I tried to have a system installed but after a site inspection their engineers said that they don't install panels "on my kind of roof". When asked what that meant they refused to comment but I inferred it had something to do with roof joist spacing. My house is fully custom construction and doesn't used engineered trusses. It passed very the very stringent engineering requirements of the city of Portland and the engineer who reviewed the plans said that it exceeded even what is required in the SF Bay Area requires for earthquake strength. It is a ribbed metal roof which I was told was ideal for the kind of system Solar City installs yet they refused to talk more about it. Perhaps they have a good reason but it makes me wonder what the issue is. After reading the many reviews here I feel I may have dodged a bullet anyway.

The experience from the time they knocked on our door to actually installing the system was pleasant. Where things got sour is they(sales people) mis informed and made empty promises to make the sale. They didn't explain clearly the difference between buying the system and leasing it. We bought. We have called almost every month to get an explanation on why our bill was $180 or sometimes $200+! (Before solar city electric bill was on average $80/$90) When their selling pitch was to cut our electric bill in half (at least.) No one explained they just beat around the bush put us on hold for hours and then answered as if they forgot or had no idea we were on hold. Frustrating and unprofessional on their part. They eventually send us a copy of the contract and we read thorough it and figured out nothing the sales people said was true. We would have probably preferred to lease. The system was installed on my parents home. System only went down once due to a power outage we had to rest all the breakers. It was a communication error from the inverter. They had the inverter up an running next day.

I was not fully informed about the PG&E True-Up portion by the sales rep. He informed me that I should expect a refund in March for the power not used from PG&E. Wrong !!!,I got a bill for $1200; luckily I had over paid PG&E around $400. I was stopped at Home Depot and a rep for Solar said can I tell you about solar. I told him don't talk to me about solar it's a rip off. I just got a bill for $800 from PG&E. He asked if he could send some one out to evaluate the problem. someone came out later that afternoon and assessed I needed more panels. A site survey was done and the plan was to add six more panels to my 23 panel array. Installation plan was to add the panels and install another inverter to the back of the house. The installer came out and installed the additional inverter beside the original which turned off both the original inverter and the new one for two months, so I had no solar until PG&E approved it and the county did the inspection. Note: I pay Solar City an additional $40 a month with not much reduction in my PG&E bill. I would not do it again.

I'm the first to admit Solar City was wonderful during installation and activation. However, I MUST advise you to READ ALL THE FINE PRINT in their contract. Our sales rep quoted us a price. It is the only price that was ever discussed. Unfortunately, he neglected to mention that this price was ONLY if we agreed to payment by ACH (withdrawing funds directly from our checking account). This is not acceptable to our financial situation, and now we must pay an additional monthly fee of $7.50. This seems like a tremendous amount to process one check per month. When I called customer service, I was told our contract states the quoted price includes the discount for ACH payment. This was never pointed out to us or mentioned at any time by our sales rep. I realize now we should have read the contract with a magnifying glass. People should be warned about this unconscionable business practice.

The panels were installed on December 24th 2015.It is now August 21 2016 and I am still not connected to the grid. Granted they had to have a new transformer installed but it should not take 8 months. The transformer was installed 1-2 weeks ago and I was told by my electric provider that everything is ready to go. All they needed was one LAST piece of paperwork from Solar City and I would start using the solar panels. You guessed it. Another delay. I was informed it will take another 90 days for the paperwork to process. That will make it 11 months. I am so sorry I did business with them but am locked in for 20 years. They have stopped returning my phone call.

Salespeople don't reveal all concerning the agreement with SC. Also it can take up to 4-5 months to get a system turned on. SC blames PGE for this when its actually SC searching for investors to take on the financing SC has provided. SC apparently puts their leases, etc. into bundles that need to be accepted by investors BEFORE a system can be activated. So it has nothing to do with PGE, ONLY with SC's method of financing. It brings to mind the bundling of mortgages with foreign investments that caused the economic collapse in 08'. Post installation problems problems seem to be ignored. You can call again and again and it seems as if your ignored for weeks until the problem is resolved.

Our salesman had me convinced that this was the way to go, then I started second guessing the decision and he instantly turned into a jerk. Then with the plans they were supposed to go on the garage then they moved them to the house then they come back out and they are back on the garage. Then the trenching guy came out and I made him move everything because he wanted to tear up my walkway then tell me I was responsible for fixing it. It was a terrible process and as of today I'm not happy. The install was a mess, they left broken glass that came up from the trenching all over my yard and covered a hole with a board and put dirt on it to burry the hole instead of filing it in. I'm a very frustrated customer. Half tempted to tell them to take their crap off my roof

I lease my system; originally from Solar City. When Tesla took over they changed the way I could monitor my systems production. I do not have a "smart phone", & therefore cannot observe the systems production. It's almost impossible to speak with someone, & mails are useless. My total out of pocket energy bill, is more than previous. The KWH, cost increases yearly, unlike the local provider, whose charge fluctuates down at times. No one can explain how I am saving money ! Would I go this way again, nooooooooo !

My inverter failed after five years. A week after reporting it, no progress. They keep moving the window of response out farther. After four business days and originally being told "Tier 2 will get back to within three business days" the response turns into "Tier 2 will get back to within 3-14 business days". Then they tell me "The contract obligation is for us to fix or replace. It does not provide a time frame for this to be completed." Preposterous!

Solar City/Tesla has added a fee of $7.50 / month because I choose to pay my bill from my checking account without using their “AutoPay” which allows them to go into my checking account and pull money out at their will. I prefer to make payments on my own volition as I do with all other Service bills. Why is this company allowed to charge me $7.50 a month - this shouldn’t be legal!

We have Solar City and they undersized our unit which at the time I stated they were not installing enough panels. They assured me they were. That the panels produce 10% more than we need and if they don't they I will get a check. I have received a check every year. I have had them out and the comment was that I would have to buy an additional system to cover my electric usage. I am not happy.

It was pretty good until I had squirrels damage some of the wiring. It stopped producing early May 2018. I have had different representatives from Solar City now Tesla come out. It is now nearly THREE MONTHS and it still has not been fixed. Try calling and get a straight answer as to why or when it will be fixed. Good luck. I’ve had one and only one representative out of numerous people from the company actually communicate with me. (Vanessa B).

They send out a contract and explain it one way and then once it is signed, it is explained in another way to benefit them. I have always said I want the SRECs and this is the contract I thought I was signing. It looked right when explained to me, NOW, they explain it differently and are demanding I sign something to give them authorization to get the SRECs. Get an attorney, better yet, find another company.

From design through actually being able to use the panels took almost two years. In addition, they promised a $200 reward for getting others to contract with them. We referred our neighbors and have been trying to get that "reward" for 2 years now! They keep pushing it off, making us jump through hoops, and still nothing. I don't trust them. We stopped referring friends and neighbors years ago.

1-I have solar city for 3 years now they said I have life time on roof since they install the panel I have one roof leak ,first I have to paid some one to check then send them the issue then they will decide if is warranted 2-i get charge a year fee of 250. for maintenance . last month I have an electric bill of$ 500 . for using electric now they ask for 3 years of past electric statements , the excuse is that was not to sunny ,,, I took my electric stove out so I can balance , they don't help and promises are all lie

We asked to have payments taken out of our check book but it took several months for them to figure this out and stop the additional charges for paper billing. Our energy production has dropped by 25% the last 4 months and phone calls got the stupid explanation that it is turning to winter and so less sun light is the cause. It is the middle of August so why the drop?, We asked about dirty panels and they had no idea if this is a problem!

The product does what it's supposed but they run odd promotions. I was promised a NEST thermostat but then was refused because I signed up under the "wrong promotion." Not sure how I would have done that since it was promised to me by the salesman. Customer services was "oh well, sorry" and totally unconcerned. But once the panels are up there isn't much we can do about it as customers.

The sales and design and installation went smoothly. Took FOREVER for the electric company to approve the connection, SolarCity says it wasn't their fault. After purchase and installation, customer service was practically zero. Emails not responded to. Questions not answered. Very difficult to get someone to respond now. But the system works, its just too small due to the 80% rule on my MP2 net metering company

I did some math as it didn't seem SolarCity was working as well as I expected, or as I've seen in other reviews. I have 6 years worth of my electricity data and compared that to my year on SolarCity. Basically I saved a whopping $20.50 TOTAL having SolarCity for 12 months. Not worth all the pain I went through to get it, or of the stress it will create if I ever need something done to my roof.

Install was good & timely. Where I have a problem is the TUNE-UP some how this is one of those items that is not all that clear when you sign up. and you need to check this out before you sign. If I had it all to do over I would go with someone who gives you a price for the system and you pay that price only, and pay installments on that only, and now their are several companies working that way. Solar city is somewhat like direct TV the price sounds good at the start.

Solar City has a scheduling problem. August 10th for reinstall work has become November 1st. Multiple reschedules, what I believe to be active deception about equipment storage, little corporate care or concern and I get to pay for a service (for multiple months) I am not receiving because I am bound by a contract that benefits them and, currently, punishes me. I was a huge Solar City supporting. And I told others and let people into my home to check out the equipment. Now, I love the idea of solar energy, but hate Solar City

The performance expected was grossly exaggerated and my utility bill saw no significant change. I purchased 32 panels for a 2,700 sq foot home and between the solar financing and my utilities my monthly expenses is now more. Save your money. I spent $62,000 on a system that will never pay for itself.

every month we try to make a payment for our solar panels. But there always seems to be an issue with their web site. For something you should be able to do in a few minutes, it takes days. You would think they would be happy to take your money. Went on the chat line and they were absolutely no help. It's surprising they stay in business.

1. Happily paid substantially extra for USA made (Buffalo, NY factory) Panasonic 325 panels. Discovered panels were actually made in Malaysia. 2. Two months post system activation, still have not received the device to enable power monitoring. Promised 2/1/19 date passed. Now they no longer even provide a delivery estimate .

they take advantage of lay people in there industry. they are not very transparent. customer service is no help, read your contract is all they tell !! very disappointed !! when all is said and done, I,am the loser.

They left screws protruding out the side of the exposed 2x4 frame work of the patio overhang when attaching the support work from above. Quality control was not apparent in this installation.

Customer service at Solar City is the worst. They have rude customer service agents. Pricing at Solar City has almost the same price as getting electricity form the department of water and power.

3 Months to fix a downed inverter with no Compensation... Imagine your car was in the shop for 3 months with no loaner while on lease? Worst. Customer. Service. Ever!

Experienced long delays when system is down since they have NO Inventory on hand. From the call "there is no power" to the final working fix can be months!

the worst, most slapstick customer service of any business I ever dealt with. all young kids, probably living in mommies basement, who haven't a clue.

Was told by solor city that if my system proved to be too small that could add pannals to it. That turned out to be a lie. They only can install a completely separate system,

Keep falling short about 50/month average. Been working on solution for about a year now. Last years 500 Christmas surprise was not okay.

Lease Agreement is confusing and actually costs more monthly compared to figures shown by Sales reps.

Not what it claimed to be. Going Solar actually INCREASED my monthly payments for energy.

As of now I grade a 5. We will see if it changes when I finally get everything installed