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Musk defends SolarCity merger: $500M cash to Tesla, strength of $1B raised
Tesla presented more financial information related to its pending acquisition of SolarCity to investors late Tuesday after the closing bell. Details were revealed through a comprehensive blog post published on the company’s site. Here are some of the the important points covered.
- SolarCity is expected to add more than a $500 million in cash to Tesla’s balance sheet over the next 3 years.
- SolarCity has transitioned to a cash or purchase finance model instead of a leasing model. This allows the company to bring more money in the door upfront rather than waiting for lease payments to come in over 20 years.
- SolarCity has arranged for nearly $1 billion in financing for its business in 2016 alone.
- Solar City currently does business in less than half of all states. Tesla is a global company with a much greater marketing territory.
- Combining the companies will create efficiencies that create cost savings of nearly $150 million a year.
During the question and answer session with analysts Tuesday afternoon, Elon has several interesting things to say. He prodded the doubters by saying that those who have been predicting a bad outcome for Tesla Motors have been wrong 100% of the time so far. He said their “batting average is zero” and asked why anyone would pay attention to people with such a dismal track record.
Referring to the fact that SolarCity already has a customer base of 300,000 installed solar systems, Musk asked people to consider the significant upsell opportunities that base represents. He joked that what people often see as counterintuitive turns out to be perfectly logical once they fully understand the concept. How is it possible that the same people can be against something one moment and then claim it to be the obvious solution the next, he mused?
For instance, he pointed out that there are more than 150 million roofs in the North American market alone. That means there is an enormous business opportunity for the solar roof products unveiled last week. Musk seemed baffled that more people don’t grasp the size of the market and the profit potential it offers.
Talking further about the solar roof, Elon downplayed its cost, saying the glass for the solar tiles cost next to nothing to manufacture. “Glass is basically sand,” he said. Even the micro-louvers that give the tiles their distinctive appearance when viewed from below are made of plastic. Very tough plastic, to be sure, but only slightly more expensive than glass.
To him, it seems obvious that people will clamor for the solar roof product. Others have tried to make a solar roof before, but Elon asked coyly if anyone had ever seen one that was attractive. He said none of them were appealing enough to go on his own house and wondered aloud why no one had come with a solar roof product before that is as attractive as the Tesla offering.
Finally, Musk was asked, if the SolarCity merger was not approved, would Tesla offer solar products from other companies in its stores? He scoffed at the idea. Would Apple offer cell phones from Samsung and other manufacturers in its stores? He seemed to think the idea was preposterous.
Elon is clearly committed to the merger with SolarCity. He even considers it pretty much a no brainer. Despite that, Tesla stock has dropped considerably this week after a temporary pop in the stock following the solar roof reveal. The company stock is trading -1.31% after hours following today’s announcement.
If you’re considering solar for your home or business, we encourage you to get a solar cost estimate first, based on your monthly utility bill and location. The service is being provided by an affiliate partner and fan to Teslarati.
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Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.
This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.
Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
