Insurance, FSD Licensing, Solar Roof: 3 Interesting Outcomes of the 2021 Tesla Shareholder Meeting

The first one has to do with solar energy. Tesla has decided to expand the market for solar roof tile installations to anywhere in the US. These solar roof tiles are durable, strong and engineered for all-weather protection, with a 25-year warranty. Until recently, Tesla solar roof installations were limited to some approved markets in the US within a relatively short distance of Tesla Energy warehouses. These solar tiles are a little more durable than traditional solar panels when it comes to their hail and wind ratings. Most solar panels are tested for their strength against one-inch hail. While this is considered severe hail and is rare in many places, Tesla's is tested to withstand 1.75-inch hail, which is certainly outstanding.

On the other hand, Tesla solar panels can power an entire house without much trouble; however, you may have to install several solar panels to meet your energy needs. Other factors also come into play like the amount of energy you use at home, and your location, the amount of sunlight that hits your roof, etc. A good question is: does solar add value to a home? Absolutely. Tesla Solar Roofs, in particular, are a great choice for energy-efficient savings, a lower carbon footprint, and a beautiful modern look. Installing one also increases the value of your property. The system now includes a Powerwall, which is a compact home battery that is bundled with every Tesla solar purchase, providing 24/7 energy security. It stores the energy produced with Solar Roof, so you can power your home anytime - at night or during an outage. All in all, the expansion of Tesla´s solar roof market to the entire US is awesome news.

Another item worth mentioning about last night meeting is Tesla FSD: version 10.2 launch is today, Friday October 8th, and the interesting news is that Tesla is now open to licensing the Autopilot to other automakers (I will discuss this more deeply in another article, as it will have a big impact ´per se´ in the industry). Tesla continues to improve its new software for the Full Self-Driving - FSD. It will include not only various improvements, but will also increase the number of owners who can receive it to 1,000 per day. As it is widely known, Tesla owners who paid as much as $10,000 for the "Full Self-Driving Capability” can now press a button on their car’s touch screen to download the newest beta version of the software - but Tesla will deploy it only to owners who demonstrate that they’ve been safe drivers for at least seven consecutive days. More eligible owners should expect access to the software starting today, according to Elon Musk´s comments last night at the Giga Texas meeting.

The third interesting news (again, in my opinion) announced by Elon Musk is that Tesla insurance will now be available in Texas and New York, and possibly other States as well. Tesla Insurance is a competitively priced insurance offering designed to provide Tesla vehicle owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases, as much as 30%. Tesla Insurance is currently available to all Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y and Roadster owners in California; it offers comprehensive coverage and claims management to support those Tesla owners in California alone, but now will expand to additional U.S. states. It offers a convenient monthly payment with no hidden fees or charges: customers may cancel or change their Tesla Insurance policy at any time. Elon Musk announced plans to bring his discount car insurance to Texas later this month and New York next year before expanding to more states and even internationally, but given the fact that each State (and country) has its own regulations, it takes time to adjust the details on a case by case basis.

There were many other important announcements in different areas, but I think it will be really interesting to see how these three outcomes of the shareholder meeting will develop in the near future. What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.