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Tesla's social media community was thrilled this week with rumors that the company would close its Draper office in Utah and reduce the size of its solar group, the former SolarCity.
Anonymous comments not founded included: "Another round of layoffs" and "All the solar is gone." Pretends that Tesla is switch off its solar energy division has been circulating on social media.
But a spokesman for Tesla told GTM that the company was only moving its Draper Energy Support Group, which will affect about 100 employees, to consolidate the energy support team under one roof.
Here is Tesla's full statement:
"As we continue to grow our Energy business, we are bringing the Energy Support team together in a centralized location, resulting in cost savings and enabling our colleagues to work more effectively together. Draper, in Utah. We understand that these changes can be difficult for those affected and that we will provide them with transition benefits and assistance during this process. "
Tesla does not close the Draper site, inherited from its acquisition of SolarCity, nor its energy division, according to Electrek. On the contrary, the division continues to grow and consolidates to save money.
About 100 people will be displaced from the Draper office in Utah, but this office will remain open and engaged, in fact.
A lot of change at SolarCity
SolarCity, once the largest residential solar energy installer in the world, has seen many changes. The car company Elon Musk acquired / saved SolarCity at the end of 2016 for a stock of 2.6 billion dollars and the assumption of a debt of about 3 billion dollars. Sunrun replaced SolarCity as the leading financial investor. And Tesla's solar installations have plummeted.
Tesla deployed 84 megawatts of solar systems in the second quarter, up from 76 megawatts in the previous quarter. Wood Mackenzie, a senior solar energy analyst, Allison Mond, calculated that Tesla had installed a 53 megawatt residential solar power in the first and second quarters of this year. This represents about 20% of its peak deployment.
As a reference, SolarCity installed 272 megawatts in the last quarter of 2015.
Tesla told GTM that it was expecting solar volumes to remain "relatively stable" despite the complete change in its sales strategy – the sale of solar energy and energy storage. energy exclusively on its retail and online sites. The SolarCity door-to-door sales channel has been abandoned, as has its in-store partnership with Home Depot. Tesla laid off 9% of its workforce in June of this year and the solar group saw its own layoffs and closures of additional facilities.
We expect to find out more about the results of its evolving sales strategy when calling Tesla's results in early November.
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