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What to expect from Tesla’s solar roof event on October 28

Tesla Motors, Inc. has sent invitations to a product reveal on Friday, October 28, 2016 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The product announcement is a formality, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on September 22: “Aiming for Oct 28 unveil in SF Bay Area of new Tesla/SolarCity solar roof with integrated Powerwall 2.0 battery and Tesla charger.”
Tesla is in the process of buying SolarCity in a deal worth $2.6 billion. The proposed Tesla/ SolarCity merger vote goes to the shareholders on Nov. 17. Friday’s upcoming announcement offers Tesla an opportune platform as it attempts to persuade shareholders that the merger has sound financial merit. Should the two companies join into one consolidated brand, the Tesla label would prevail, according to Motley Fool, with roof systems marketed alongside vehicles and energy storage products.
How can Musk’s vision for photovoltaic units integrated into the roof itself change the industry?
Traditional rooftop solar panels are attached to roofs using metal mounting systems. But Musk’s plans for an actual roof that’s integrated with a series of solar panels is a step into a new dimension of decentralized renewable energy systems. That means that re-roofing, which is generally required about every 20 years, could migrate into a common pattern of homeowners switching to the solar roof option. While likely more expensive than a conventional roof-mounted panel, the Tesla solar roof will offer homeowners the incentives of savings in power production, endurance of the product, and overt symbolism of a sustainable lifestyle. The latter may have a profound effect on the highly-desired millennial market.
Musk has emphasized that the new solar roof product is “a fundamental part of achieving a differentiated product strategy.” The solar roof concept incorporates Tesla’s Powerwall, with 6.4 kWh storage capacity, sufficient to power most homes during the evening using electricity generated by solar panels during the day. The Powerwall can also act as a backup electrical system in the event of a power outage. Multiple batteries may be installed together for homes with greater energy needs. The upcoming Powerwall 2.0 will simplify the process of installation and feature a charger for Tesla automobiles.
A typical Powerwall system includes solar panels, an inverter for converting electricity between direct current and alternating current, a meter for measuring battery charge, and, in backup applications, a secondary circuit that powers key appliances. Each element interacts with the other.
- Panels convert sunlight into electricity that charges Powerwall and powers the home during the day.
- The home battery is charged with electricity generated by solar panels.
- The inverter converts direct current electricity from solar panels, the grid, and Powerwall into the alternating current used by a home’s lights, appliances, and devices.
A Tesla/ SolarCity partnership also has the gravitas to succeed where others have failed. Research and development around building integrated solar has been underway by various companies for years, including some systems that moved into the development stage. However, cost factors as well as inefficient electricity generation have tabled many of these efforts. Recently, Dow Chemical ceased production of its solar shingles, citing a lack of sales, according to Fortune.
Among many partnerships, Tesla is now providing batteries for Swell Energy as part of its all-in-one home management energy system. It also recently announced its pledge with Panasonic to produce solar cells at a manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York should the Tesla/ SolarCity merger reach stockholder approval.
Already, the Tesla Powerwall unit is in demand in areas where grid reliability is an issue. Recent power outages in Australia saw demand for the Powerall increase by 30x. This newest announcement comes on the heels of an October 19 frenzy of speculation about another Tesla mystery product, which turned out to be Tesla’s autonomous driving hardware.
Tune in on October 28 to see the live product unveiling via webcast on Tesla’s website or Follow Us on @Twitter to see behind the scenes action from the event.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch
“Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go,” Musk said.

Elon Musk revealed when SpaceX would perform the first-ever catch attempt of Starship, its massive rocket that will one day take life to other planets.
On Tuesday, Starship aced its tenth test flight as SpaceX was able to complete each of its mission objectives, including a splashdown of the Super Heavy Booster in the Gulf, the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, and another splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.
It was the first launch that featured a payload deployment:
SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative
SpaceX was transparent that it would not attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster, something it has done on three previous occasions: Flight 5 on October 13, 2024, Flight 7 on January 16, and Flight 8 on March 6.
This time, it was not attempting to do so. However, there are bigger plans for the future, and Musk detailed them in a recent post on X, where he discussed SpaceX’s plans to catch Starship, which would be a monumental accomplishment.
Musk said the most likely opportunities for SpaceX to catch Starship itself would be Flight 13, Flight 14, and Flight 15, but it depends on “how well the V3 flights go.”
The Starship launched with Flight 10 was a V2, which is the same size as the subsequent V3 rocket but has a smaller payload-to-orbit rating and is less powerful in terms of initial thrust and booster thrust. Musk said there is only one more V2 rocket left to launch.
Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2025
V3 will be the version flown through 2026, as V4, which will be the most capable Starship build SpaceX manufactures, is likely to be the first company ship to carry humans to space.
Musk said that SpaceX planned to “hopefully” attempt a catch of Starship in 2025. However, it appears that this will likely be pushed back to 2026 due to timing.
SpaceX will take Starship catch one step further very soon, Elon Musk confirms
SpaceX would need to launch the 11th and 12th test flights by the end of the year in order to get to Musk’s expected first catch attempt of Flight 13. It’s not unheard of, but the company will need to accelerate its launch rate as it has only had three test flights this year.
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Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo confirms massive fleet expansion in Bay Area
New data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.

Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo has confirmed that it has expanded its fleet of driverless ride-sharing vehicles in the Bay Area of California massively since its last public disclosure.
It is perhaps one of the most important metrics in the race for autonomous supremacy, along with overall service area. Tesla has seemed to focus on the latter, while expanding its fleet slowly to maintain safety.
Waymo, on the other hand, is bringing its fleet size across the country to significant levels. In March, it told The SF Examiner that there were over 300 Waymos in service in the San Francisco area, which was not a significant increase from the 250 vehicles on the road it reported in August 2023.
In May, the company said in a press release that it had more than 1,500 self-driving Waymos operating nationwide. More than 600 were in the San Francisco area.
Tesla analyst compares Robotaxi to Waymo: ‘The contrast was clear’
However, new data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.
CPUC data from March 2025 indicated that there were a total of 1,087 Waymo vehicles in California, with 762 located in San Francisco. Some were test vehicles, others were deployed to operate as ride-sharing vehicles.
The company’s August update also said that it deploys more than 2,000 commercial vehicles in the United States. That number was 1,500 in May. There are also roughly 400 in Phoenix and 500 in Los Angeles.
While Waymo has done a good job of expanding its fleet, it has also been able to expand its footprint in the various cities it is operating in.
Most recently, it grew its geofence in Austin, Texas, to 90 square miles. This outpaced Tesla for a short period before the company expanded its Robotaxi service area earlier this week to roughly 170 square miles.
Tesla one-ups Waymo once again with latest Robotaxi expansion in Austin
The two companies have drastically different approaches to self-driving, as Waymo utilizes LiDAR, while Tesla relies solely on cameras for its suite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made no mistake about which he believes to be the superior solution to autonomy.
News
Tesla launches Full Self-Driving in a new region
Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Tesla has launched its Full Self-Driving suite in a new region, marking a significant step in the company’s progress to expand its driver assistance suite on a global scale.
It is also the first time Tesla has launched FSD in a right-hand-drive market.
Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.
Previously, Basic and Enhanced Autopilot suites were available, but the FSD capability now adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, along with all the features of the previous two Autopilot suites.
🚨 Tesla has officially launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for the price of $10,100 outright.
The move marks a significant step in Tesla’s progress to expand the suite on a global scale pic.twitter.com/zzHa8Ngqls
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2025
It is the first time Tesla has launched the suite by name in a region outside of North America. In China, Tesla has “City Autopilot,” as it was not permitted to use the Full Self-Driving label for regulatory reasons.
However, Tesla still lists Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
The company teased the launch of the suite in Australia earlier this week, and it appeared to have been released to select media members in the region earlier this week:
Tesla FSD upcoming Australia release seemingly teased bv media
The rollout of Full Self-Driving in the Australian market will occur in stages, as Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with Hardware 4 will receive the first batch of FSD rollouts in the region.
TechAU also reported that “the initial deployment of FSDs in Australia will roll out to a select number of people outside the company, these people are being invited into Tesla’s Early Access Program.”
Additionally, the company reportedly said it is “very close” to unlocking FSD in customer cars:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially announced that FSD (Supervised) is launching in Australia, marking a huge milestone for the company.
The rollout will happen in stages. HW4 Model 3s and Model Ys will get it first. Tesla says it is “very close” to being unlocked in customer cars.… pic.twitter.com/r1dYnFRa6o
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 28, 2025
Each new Tesla sold will also come with a 30-day free trial of the suite.
Australia is the sixth country to officially have Full Self-Driving available to them, following the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Here’s the first look at the suite operating in Australia:
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