This Guy Adds A Solar Roof To His Tesla Model 3, And It Works

Name: This Guy Adds A Solar Roof To His Tesla Model 3, And It Works
Uploaded: 2021-03-21T15:13:57Z
Description: A few cars are available with solar roofs, but they're mostly a novelty rather than something useful. However, that may change down the road.

Is a solar roof on an electric car something that will be common in the future?

tesla model 3 homemade solar roof

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Mar 21, 2021 at 11:13am ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

When the video above first came onto our radar, our first question was, "How well does it work?" We know that it's possible to add some range to an EV via a solar roof, but not really enough to be worth the cost. Hopefully, as technology improves and costs come down, this will become more commonplace going forward, but it's going to be a while.

This Tesla Model 3 owner didn't permanently attach solar panels to the roof of his car. Instead, to see how it worked, he just laid them over the car. Obviously, this wouldn't work for use while driving. However, if you're going camping and your car will sit for a long period of time with no access to a charger, this might do the trick. It certainly can't hurt.

A few cars are available with solar roofs, but they're mostly a novelty rather than something useful. For example, when Hyundai completely redesigned the Sonata Hybrid for the 2020 model year, it added a solar roof as an option. It's only on the top Limited trim, which costs about $8,000 more than the base model, and it can add about 2 miles of range per day.

Since the Sonata Hybrid isn't a plug-in hybrid – Hyundai eliminated the Sonata PHEV as part of the 2020 redesign – the added range really just means saving some pocket change on fuel costs. With over 600 miles of range, the Sonata Hybrid doesn't need the 2-mile bump.

What do you think?

View

Comments

You can't yet buy a Tesla car with a solar roof, but there are companies experimenting with the concept. In the meantime, this guy took the project into his own hands. It actually works, but the question is, how well does it work?

See More Related Tesla Solar Roof Stories:

Elon Musk To Joe Rogan: Tesla Electric Van Could Have Massive Solar Array

Lightyear Testing Solar Roof Option For Tesla Model 3

Check out the video for the answer, as well as all of the interesting details. What do you think of this homemade Tesla Model 3 solar roof? Is it something you'd consider for camping? Should we expect this to be common in the future? Leave us your takeaways in the comment section below.

Source: The Tech of the Tech (YouTube)

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com

View all comments ( )

Trending

I Took A Rivian R2 On A Camping Trip To The Middle Of The Desert

Solid-State Cells Can Make The U.S. Competitive In Batteries Again: CEO

BYD's Futuristic EV Charger Can Run On Sunshine And Batteries

Google’s Gemini AI Assistant Now Works On Apple CarPlay