In its effort to make solar power products much more visible to the mainstream customers, Tesla is going to set up a retail space of its own inside Home Depot locations across the United States in an effort to promote and sell its batteries and solar panels.
These spaces will have large displays, and in some demonstrations will be offered of the different products. Tesla is building this space in 800 Home Depot stores. Nationwide the chain of home improvement stores has 2,200 locations.
On-site sales reps will be available to explain to customers the products being offered. The solar roof, which last summer Tesla started taking preorders for, will not be included in the new mini-stops for the moment, but might be added at some point in the future, said sources.
Tesla for its part is planning to manufacture its solar panels in the U.S., making them exempt from that new tariff, but the cost on average to install a solar roof by Tesla will be at a premium. It is estimates that a Solar Roof by Tesla that is 3,000 square feet in size would cost approximately $73,500.
The spaces for Tesla at Home Depot already are rolling out in locations across Southern California and will soon be opening in Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. All 800 of the Home Depot locations will have kiosks at some point during the first half of 2018.
Lowe’s, the biggest rival of Home Depot in the home improvement do it yourself industry in the U.S. was reported to be in talks with Tesla relative to a sales experience similar to that in Home Depot, but the company said on Friday it currently does not have any plans to carry products made by Tesla or include an standalone space in its stores.
The solar panel industry has not seen the support from the current White House administration as it did from the previous. However, oil prices have started to increase again and that alone may help the industry as consumers look for ways to save in the long run and of course help the environment through producing more green energy.
