Tesla first announced its intention to acquire SolarCity at the end of June to become the "world’s only vertically integrated energy company."
It's a pretty interesting concept, actually — the idea of buying into a Tesla ecosystem or a Tesla lifestyle. Your roof would collect solar energy that would be stored in your at-home battery. And that very same battery could power the sustainable Tesla car sitting in your garage.
Business Insider's Matt DeBord wrote an article explaining how Tesla is trying to revive vertical integration, a business practice that has largely gone out of style.
The acquisition proposal was immediately met with criticism as SolarCity has struggled as a company, leading many to refer to the deal as a bailout.
In the past year, SolarCity shares have plummeted by more than 50%. SolarCity also has roughly $3 billion in debt that Tesla has now acquired.
The deal was naturally further complicated by the fact that Musk owns roughly 20% of both companies and is chairman of SolarCity. He is also the cousin of SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.
You can read more about the criticism about the deal here.
Regardless, Tesla said it expects SolarCity to contribute over $1 billion in revenue in 2017 and to contribute over 500 million in cash to Tesla's balance sheet over the next three years.
Musk has even said he could see SolarCity being a cash contributor in the fourth quarter.
Now that SolarCity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla, its shares have been converted into .11 Tesla shares and are no longer being publicly traded.
But layoffs are probably on the way now that the companies have combined.
Tesla wrote in a blog post published in November that it expects to "achieve cost synergies of $150 million in the first full year after closing." Business Insider's Bob Bryan wrote that we could see as much as 1,000 employees let go.
Some cuts have already begun. Rive told Business Insider that there were layoffs to its marketing and sales team in August.
Tesla's flagship product as a solar company will be its solar roof.
Tesla is offering four different solar shingle options to accommodate different housing aesthetics. Musk first unveiled the solar roof product at the end of October. The solar shingles are slated to go into production next year.
It's worth noting Tesla will also provide traditional solar panel installation in addition to its solar roof offering.
You can get a breakdown of all the options that will hit the market here.
Tesla is using a process known as hydrographic coloring, a process that uses water to apply printed designs, to some tiles. That hydrographic coloring process is being overseen by Tesla's new glass division.
Musk said the division is developing glass that can incorporate heating elements to clear snow while generating energy. Musk also said that Tesla will likely offer the Model 3 with a solar roof composed of the same glass technology.
As for price: Musk said just last week that the solar roof could cost less than a normal roof, even before taking into account the amount it saves on electricity.
But Musk has yet to provide concrete numbers on the price of the solar roof. The most we've heard came from Rive, who said during a Nov. 1 conference call that they are aiming to get the price of the solar cells close to 40 cents a Watt, which would put it in line with the competition.
Bloomberg wrote that the cost savings Musk is speaking to will come from shipping. Because the Tesla tiles weigh as little as a fifth of current products, they are easier to ship.
Tesla and Panasonic will manufacture the solar cells for the roof at a manufacturing facility in Buffalo, New York.
The state of New York is spending $750 million on the Buffalo plant as part of an economic revitalization project called the Buffalo Billion initiative. SolarCity has pledged $150 million for the Buffalo plant, which costs a total of $900 million.
The plant is expected to begin production next summer, according to Buffalo News.
Tesla will also sell its newly improved battery, the Powerwall 2, as part of its solar offerings.
The new Powerwall will cost $5,500 and can store 14 kWh of energy and provide 5 kWh of continuous energy. This means that the Powerwall 2 has twice the energy storage as its predecessor. The inverter comes included with the price of the Powerwall 2, which was not always the case with the first generation at-home battery.
Powerwall 2 is also more rectangular and flatter than the previous generation at 269 pounds and 6.1 inches deep.
Tesla will actually sell Powerwall 2 in its retail locations, showing a renewed focus on showing Tesla as both an energy and car business.
Previously, the Powerwall could only be purchased on Tesla's website. You can read more about the revamp to Tesla stores here.
Lastly for energy products, Tesla will continue to offer its massive commercial battery pack, Powerpack 2.
The island of Ta’u in American Samoa is actually running almost entirely on solar energy enabled by a microgrid consisting of 60 Tesla Powerpacks.
Tesla is also using its 52 MWh Powerpacks to bring 20 years of power to the Hawaiian island Kaua’i. There are currently 300 MWh of Tesla batteries deployed in 18 countries, and you can read more about the projects here.
Tesla's battery ambitions will be supported by its massive battery plant, the Gigafactory.
Some battery packs are currently being produced at the Gigafactory, but battery cell production won't begin until later. Tesla will continue to ramp up production until it's operating in full capacity in 2020.
About $5 billion from Tesla and its partners will go into the factory by 2020.
Meanwhile, Tesla plans to continue to grow its auto business by ramping up Model 3 production in 2017.
The Model 3 is Tesla's first consumer-friendly car priced at $35,000 before federal tax exemptions. A year's worth of Model 3 cars are sold out. The Model 3 received roughly 400,000 pre-orders.
Tesla will continue producing the Model S and Model X as well. .
Musk is also advancing Tesla's position in self-driving car tech going into 2017.
Tesla cars currently in production — which includes the Model S, Model X, and future Model 3 — are being built with hardware that will enable them to be fully self-driving, pending further software validation and regulatory approval.
The new hardware also improves Autopilot, renaming the system Enhanced Autopilot, which is slated for a release in December.
A self-driving Tesla will drive itself from Los Angeles to New York City by the end of 2017 as a demonstration of the new hardware.
Musk also plans to include a Tesla SUV, semi-truck, and mini bus in its future line-up.
Musk wrote about the new Tesla vehicles in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" in July.
There's also plans for Tesla to take on Uber with a ride-hailing service.
Musk said more details on the service, called Tesla Network, will be released in 2017.
Meanwhile, Tesla will scale up its production in order to aid his grand vision.
Tesla acquired a German automated manufacturing company in early November to increase automation in its factories and, therefore, speed up its production line.
Tesla is also planning to build a second Gigafactory in Europe that will build both batteries and vehicles, but an exact location won't be determined until next year.
Tesla cars are currently produced in the company's factory in Fremont, California.
