News
My journey with a SolarCity System: Snow, Net Metering
After 9 months of planning, waiting and negotiating, my SolarCity system installation was finally completed in December of 2014. Following the install, the only steps that remained were to implement updates required for net metering and to finalize the electrical and building inspections.
The electrical inspection went quickly, but the building inspection was a pain. The local building inspector wasn’t very responsive and scheduled inspections shortly after large snow storms, but then refused to do the inspection due to “snow covering the panels”.
While we waited for the inspections, which finally took place in March of 2015, National Grid installed a new Net Meter. Net meters are capable of monitoring the amount of power being sent back into the grid. The meter swap is quick work, but be forewarned that it requires power to be cut from your home during the swap.
Weathering the Storm
We had a brutal Winter here in the Northeast and this was my first year with panels. So I had concerns about the impact of the heavy snow being on top of the panels, and also how one goes about cleaning off the snow. I asked SolarCity about proper handling and they told me not to worry about it:
“We understand your concern with the snow and the load that it would cause. Please be advised that when your system was built, our engineers took into consideration, your roof structure as well as the amount of weight that it would be able to hold. We also have the system approved by the City for load bearings.The City and our engineers did take into consideration, the amount of largest amount of snow that your roof can withstand before we installed. I understand that there was a mass message out to all the people in the area advising them to make sure that they clear the roof. We advised that you allow the snow to melt/slide down on its own., If you are hiring someone to come out to clear the roof. Make sure that they be careful and they only sweep the panels.”
I patiently waited for the snow to slide off the panels and sure enough it did, and with no issues. The snow slides off the black, wet glass-like surface of the solar panels. You definitely don’t want to be anywhere below the roofline when the snow decides to let go!
Early Issues – Broken Gear
Once National Grid completed the net metering install, I was finally approved to turn on the system. The first step involves turning a big dial (on each inverter) from off to on. I have three inverters which means three dials to flip on.
I turned each of them on. Two lit green almost immediately while the remaining inverted displayed a red fault light. There were no instructions on what to do in this scenario; no manuals and no guidance, so my only option was to call for help.
Getting help from SolarCity on the issue at had was a frustrating experience. SolarCity has a lot to learn when it comes to customer service. I spoke to several customer support managers as I continued to escalate my issue.
Finally, after five weeks of follow ups and many phone calls, I got the broken inverter fixed.
Tip:
SolarCity doesn’t bother to tell you this, but what I discovered was a little black button in the middle of the inverter. It’s hard to see but if you press the button you’ll be able to cycle through messages on the digital display, one of which is a fault code. Providing SolarCity with a fault code is much more useful than just letting them know that a red light is blinking.
Early Issues – Snow Fall
As mentioned earlier, snow doesn’t stick to the panels for long, but it does manage to build up before it lets go. Imagine 3 feet of heavy snow mixed with ice over your entire roof all letting go at the same time. It’s not a slow drip. It’s an avalanche.
The end result is dead flowers, dead bushes, and broken branches on vegetation immediately below the roof. As much as it’s common sense that snow will eventually melt from a roof and slide down, I wish SolarCity would have warned us that snow tends to slide from solar panels at a much quicker rate. I would have done something to fortify those flowers and bushes. After all, landscaping is not cheap.
There’s an accident waiting to happen so I think it’s in SolarCity’s best interest to pre-warn people of this, especially newbies to the world of solar panels.
Summary
Eleven months after starting the project, my SolarCity system finally went live (partially) on February 23, 2015. And on April 1, 2015, the third inverter was fixed allowing the system to work in its full capacity.
The image to the right is showing the day when the transformer on my street blew up and the entire street lost power for several hours. I added 33% more power from my large system going back into the network while using very little (Winter time) the same day the transformer blew. But then again, it was also April 1. Nobody made a fuss — National Grid replaced the transformer and all has been stable since. My best guess as to why that happened? Perhaps the transformer was already near its thresholds and my solar installation was the one to tip it over?
I’ll be writing about system monitoring, cost savings and billing errors in upcoming posts. The story isn’t over yet.
Tesla Cybertruck trims saw a big price change, at least on two of the three available to consumers, as demand for the all-electric pickup appears to be increasing.
Tesla bumped up its Base All-Wheel-Drive trim level up to $74,990 from $69,990 and the Premium All-Wheel-Drive configuration from $79,990 to $84,990. The Cyberbeast price remains unchanged at $99,990.
🚨 Cybertruck prices went up as Tesla bumped them 7%
– Tesla Cybertruck AWD is now $74,990
– Tesla Cybertruck Premium AWD now $84,990
– Tesla Cyberbeast now $99,990 https://t.co/MYJbaw56GL— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 25, 2026
Despite questions of demand for the truck, Tesla is bumping its two least expensive trims up $5,000 to signal that there are plenty of buyers. Although SpaceX has been buying Tesla Cybertruck units to utilize as company vehicles, it is no secret that the Cybertruck is among the most sought-after Tesla models out there.
The issue has always been pricing, at least for the most part. When Tesla initially launched the Cybertruck AWD at $59,990 a few months back, the company stated that price would remain intact for just ten days due to the influx of orders it received.
Cybertruck Sales: Is It the Product or Pricing?
Depending on who you ask, you will likely hear one of two explanations for relatively low Cybertruck sales: either the product itself or the pricing.
Yes, this is the best-selling all-electric pickup on the market. However, there are people who simply hate the look of it, which I understand, but do not agree with. Look is totally subjective, and I love the look of the Cybertruck.
Some people will not buy the Cybertruck because of the look, but I am under the impression that sales would be much better if this truck were priced lower; something that might not be possible considering Tesla’s need to make money on its products. When it was unveiled in 2019, its most expensive trim level was $69,990. Now, the cheapest trim level is more expensive than that.
I would be in a Cybertruck if it were more affordable. I LOVE my Model Y, but Cybertruck is the best vehicle Tesla makes, and it’s not particularly close. Even in the base model, the steer-by-wire, the space, storage, and performance make it more desirable than the Model Y to me. I cannot be the only Tesla owner without a Cybertruck who feels this way.
If you’re interested in buying a Tesla vehicle, use my referral link.
Energy
Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected
Tesla will inaugurate its Nevada Semi factory September 24, five months after production quietly began ramping.
Tesla says it will officially inaugurate its new Semi factory in Nevada next month. The Tesla Semi account posted the announcement on X, sharing a graphic titled “Semi Rollout” with a date of September 24. No further details were given about the format of the event or who would attend.
While Tesla’s dedicated Semi plant in Sparks, adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, opened back in April, with the first trucks rolling off the high volume line on April 29, the timing for the factory inauguration comes at a surprise. The ribbon cutting event five months into production is a break from how Tesla has usually handled its other factories, where the first truck or car off the line typically served as the milestone moment.
Inauguration of new Semi factory in Nevada next month pic.twitter.com/a8kAlxrOOn
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) August 24, 2026
The 1.7 million square foot factory was built as part of a $3.6 billion expansion Tesla announced in early 2023, and it shares a site with the battery cell lines that feed the Semi’s structural pack, a decision meant to remove the supply bottleneck that delayed the truck for years. The plant is designed for 50,000 trucks a year at full ramp. Semi program director Dan Priestley has said production “is now ramping” rather than claiming it has reached scale.
Nine years passed between the Semi’s 2017 unveiling and this stage of production, with the truck slipping from an original 2019 target through hand built pilot units for PepsiCo and a slow build out of the Nevada plant. An inauguration event now gives Tesla a stage to talk up that ramp and reset expectations for how many trucks it can begin delivering at scale.
The September date also lines up with the Semi’s next milestone. Tesla confirmed the truck is heading to Europe with a full unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade show in Hannover, Germany, running September 15 through 20. Between the Nevada event and the Hannover reveal, Tesla has roughly a week and a half in September to make the case that the Semi is now a truck being built and sold on two continents rather than tested in a handful of fleets.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk just set a condition that could end Falcon 9 as we know it
Elon Musk says SpaceX will finally retire Falcon 9 once Starship flies reliably every week.
Elon Musk gave the clearest timeline yet for retiring Falcon 9, SpaceX’s workhorse rocket.
The comment came in a reply on X, where Musk wrote that “once Starship is flying reliably several times per week, it makes sense to shift super scarce SpaceX engineering and production resources to Starship to get launch rate to several times per day, which means winding down Falcon.” He was responding to physicist Casey Handmer, who noted that NASA is reportedly uneasy about SpaceX phasing out Falcon after building what Handmer called the most successful launcher ever, with the fleet nearing 1,000 total launches.
Now @SciGuySpace reports NASA is in a tizzy because after running the most successful launcher ever for more than a decade and nearing 1000 launches, @SpaceX is planning to retire Falcon in favor of Starship in a few years.
Sorry, NASA, you’ve had 15 years to burn down the… https://t.co/uCNoMwK0v9
— Casey Handmer (@CJHandmer) August 22, 2026
Falcon 9 is still SpaceX’s busiest vehicle by far. The company is on pace for roughly 140 to 145 Falcon flights this year, following 165 in 2025, president Gwynne Shotwell told Time earlier in 2026. She has already said Falcon flights would “tail off” as Starship comes online, while reports indicate that SpaceX has stopped booking new Falcon 9 launches past 2028 and halted production of some expendable Falcon hardware, according to Bloomberg.
It’s worth noting that Musk’s post is a condition, and not a countdown on when Falcon will retire. Starship has not yet flown weekly, let alone daily. Its most recent flight in July ended with a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, a milestone Musk pointed to earlier this month when he said the vehicle’s heat shield problem was effectively solved. SpaceX towed that ship to Christmas Island for inspection, and the next flight, Flight 14, is aimed at putting Starship into orbit for the first time. A tower catch attempt for the upper stage has been pushed back to what Musk has called “a few months” away.
SpaceX and a new Trump order that could rewrite the next decade of launches
The gap between Falcon’s role today and Starship’s promised role tomorrow matters most to NASA. Falcon and its Dragon capsule remain the only way the agency rotates astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and Starship is not certified to carry NASA crews. Musk’s post did not address how that handoff would work if Falcon winds down before a crew-rated Starship variant exists. The timing lines up with Musk’s other recent Starship comments. Two days before the Falcon post, he told a different X user that SpaceX is aiming for more than 30 Starship launches a day by 2030, or roughly 10,000 a year, a figure tied to the Trump administration’s new push for higher national launch cadence. Falcon, which took over a decade to reach its first 100 launches, was never built to approach that kind of volume.
For now, Falcon 9 keeps flying at a near-record pace while Starship works to prove it can do the job Musk has already picked out for it.
Tesla Cybertruck gets a big price change on two of its three trims
Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected
