Tesla is hiking the prices on its solar roof tiles for existing customers by as much as 70%

• Customers waiting on installations of Tesla's Solar Roof received were told the price was rising.
• Electrek reported customers receiving the same email with massive price hikes this weekend.
• Some customers had signed contracts over a year ago.

Customers for Tesla's Solar Roof product are reporting they've suddenly been hit with massive price hikes.

The Verge reported Monday that one customer for Tesla's solar roof product signed a contract in February for a roof costing $35,000 plus $30,000 for the battery. The same customer later received an email telling him he would be receiving a new contract with the price hiked to $75,000 plus $35,ooo for the battery - a 69% increase.

Tesla has a solar panel installation programme that sits alongside its larger electric vehicle business. It offers two products, regular solar panels, which go on top of a customer's roof, and the "Solar Roof," which replaces a customer's roof tiles with solar energy cells.

"We have increased the price of Solar Roof and have added adjustments for individual roof complexity," the email said. It added the customer would be able to cancel his order and get his deposit refunded, and said Tesla would be "prioritizing customers based on the order in which they accept their updated agreements."

This followed a report from Electrek this weekend that multiple Tesla Solar Roof customers had received the same email. Some of these customers had signed contracts over a year ago and been waiting for the installation, before being told they would have to pay more money.

One customer showed Electrek documents that they had agreed to a price of $77,000 nine months ago only to be told this week that the price is now $118,870.

Some had also already spent thousands of dollars in preparation, having trees cut down.

Electrek reported on March 29 that Tesla had dramatically increased its prices for its Solar Roof product. After receiving tips from customers, the publication compared a quote it had received for a 3,947-square-foot roof last summer by running the details of the same roof through Tesla's price calculator. While Electrek had received a quote for $54,966 in summer 2020, in March it was quoted between $79,938 and $100,621 for the same roof.

Tesla did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider for comment.