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It's official: Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity has closed

Nov 21, 2016, 20:26 IST

SolarCity Founder & CEO Lyndon Rive and SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk speak about the SolarCity IPO during the opening bell ceremony at that NASDAQ stock exchange on December 13, 2012 in Manhattan, New York.Mark Von Holden/AP

Tesla is officially in the solar business.

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Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity closed on Monday morning, according to an emailed Tesla statement. Shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition last Thursday, with more than 85% of Tesla shares voted in favor.

The deal was worth roughly $2 billion. Tesla absorbed SolarCity's roughly $3 billion in debt as part of the deal.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recused himself from the vote because he owns about 20% of both companies and is chairman of SolarCity. Musk is also the cousin of SolarCity's CEO Lyndon Rive.

J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technical officer who sits on Tesla's and SolarCity's boards, also recused himself from the vote.

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Musk showed off new solar products in late October to show his vision for the combined companies. The main product was a solar roof that looks like a normal roof, but contains solar cells. The solar roof comes with four separate shingle options to cater to different housing aesthetics.

Tesla

Musk said the solar roof will likely cost less than a normal roof, including the price of labor, in a question-and-answer session with shareholders after the vote to acquire SolarCity. But he has yet to provide concrete pricing information.

Glass for the solar roof is made in part by Tesla's new glass technology division.

The solar cells for the roof will be made by Tesla and Panasonic at a factory in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo plant is scheduled to begin production at the end of 2017.

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Tesla will offer traditional solar panel installation in addition to its solar roof option.

Musk also unveiled an improved version of Tesla's at-home battery in October. Called the Powerwall 2.0, it can store 13.5 kWh of energy.

Tesla wrote in a blog post Nov. 1 that it expects SolarCity to add more than half a billion dollars in cash to Tesla's balance sheet over the next three years and "to contribute $1+ billion in revenue in 2017."

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk just unveiled something that could revolutionize how you power your home

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