Christina Spicer  |  May 4, 2021

Category: Household

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Consumers Accuse Tesla of Bait-and-Switch in Solar Roof Tiles Class Action

A pair of Pennsylvania residents say that Tesla pulled an old trick, bait-and-switch, when they contracted with the company for its new energy-saving technology – solar roof tiles.  

Lead plaintiffs, Philip Dahlin and Mary Arndtsen filed the class action lawsuit naming Elon Musk’s Palo Alto-based company as a defendant in Pennsylvania federal court Friday. In it, they claim that they entered into what was supposed to be a $46,919 contract for solar roof tiles in September; however, the plaintiffs say Tesla hiked the price to more than $78,000 six months later, blaming a redesign to the system it had to install.  

“Tesla is demanding that Plaintiffs pay more than double for the Solar Roof from what was agreed-upon in the Contract,” alleges the class action lawsuit. “Specifically, Defendant has increased the price of the Solar Roof from $30,139.20 to $61,255.25. Defendant has also increased the price of the Powerwall from $16,000 to $17,000.” 

Dahlin and Arndtsen say that they are not allowed to install regular solar roof panels under their homeowner’s agreement and they became interested in Tesla’s solar roof tiles in 2019 as an environmentally friendly alternative. Tesla’s solar roof tiles are unique because they resemble regular roof tiles, they note in their lawsuit.  

The couple says that they entered into a contract with Tesla for the tiles after an employee visited their home for an estimate. The estimate included the solar roof tiles, along with Tesla’s energy storage system, called the Powerwall.  

The plaintiffs say that in September of 2020 they signed a contract with Tesla and put $100 down as a deposit and refinanced their mortgage to cover the rest of the nearly $47,000 deal. The roof installation was supposed to begin within 180 days of the contract, say the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs allege that they inquired about when their roof would be installed on multiple occasions over the next few months and Tesla blew by the 180-day window provided by its contract.  

Allegedly, Tesla then demanded that the plaintiffs pay more than double to have new and improved solar roof tiles installed. The class action lawsuit contends that the plaintiffs are not the only consumers burned by Telsa’s bait-and-switch, citing several reports and statements by Elon Musk about the redesign and price increases.  

The plaintiffs seek to represent other Pennsylvania consumers who were allegedly duped by Tesla’s bait-and-switch solar roof tiles contract. They accuse Tesla of violating state consumer protection laws and want the court to assess damages on behalf of Class Members.  

Are you thinking about Tesla solar roof tiles? Are you concerned about the bait-and-switch allegations against the company? Tell us about it in the comment section below! 

The lead plaintiffs are represented by Peter Muhic of LeVan Muhic Stapleton and Gary Lynch and Edwin J. Kilpela, Jr of Carlson Lynch, LLP.  

The Tesla Solar Roof Tiles Class Action Lawsuit is Dahlin, et al. v. Telsa, Inc, Case No. 2:21-cv-02020 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  

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14 thoughts onConsumers Accuse Tesla of Bait-and-Switch in Solar Roof Tiles Class Action

  1. Heather Witt says:

    Tesla just bait and switched me!!! I am buying a car with $10,000 and I have top tier credit. They gave me a quote of 5.69% interest and gave me a doc to sign for 6.99% interest for a car!

  2. Michael McTigue says:

    Dealing with the same thing. Agreed upon 42k in July 22 was told up to 6 months to get installed whoch was fine pit my 100$ deposit down signed docs was on permiting. Come now April still no timeline install on hold. Tesla told be to email a subcontracter. Was now told Tesla no longer doing installs by a third party installer they gave me. They quoted me at over 100k. Back to Tesla they say they do infact do installs. I ask them when they say they can’t lock in a date. I asked them if they would honor my price they wouldn’t. Pretty much same sentiments everyone here expressed. Great product terrible implementation. Just imagine if you do get one how long it will take for a warranty issue or repair to be done if they can’t even give you a firm date on install. Supply chain issue, installer issue it doesn’t matter… I have all the signed documents. Don’t sell a product if you can’t deliver it. Tesla stocks are plummeting as I write this. Never-ending ethics violations seemingly from the employees too. Union up Tesla employees.

  3. Khanh Nguyen says:

    I signed for a design authorization and initial contract for $28k, then the project advisor called to congratulate me in locking in the price since others are experiencing price hikes… A few weeks and a few more designs later, they sent me a new design and price. The contract went up $14k, new total $42k, due to unexpected changes. I supplied my new construction plan set since day 1, so I was very upset and disappointed they had leverage how this will extend my construction if I change anything that in turn will change the permit… How can I remove the join the class action and what are the requirements?

  4. John Kloster says:

    I signed, as Tesla did, a contract to have a solar roof installed on my house in Bellevue, Washington. The contract date is February 9, 2021. The Solar Roof was to cost $60,498.07, The two Power Walls were to cost $17,000. The total cost $82,449.75. The approximate start date was 7 ro 180 days.

    As of April 15, 2021 the new pricing was $109,646.81. The difference is $27,197.06. This increase is 38.986 percent.

    If there is further information necessary, please let me know.
    John Kloster

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