Elon Musk is raising the roof, literally! The sun provides more than enough energy in just one hour to power our planet’s energy needs for a whole year. Tesla has unveiled a new and efficient way for homes to be able to capture this energy for immediate use or storage: solar panel tiles that double as roof shingles. This new offering would complete Tesla’s goal of creating a home that lives entirely independent of the grid, a home with solar tiles on the roof, a battery in the basement, and an electric car in the garage. But it is too soon to tell just how effective and practical this new product will be.

Aesthetically, the roof is undeniably cool. It comes in four different styles with durable, long lasting tempered glass and a look that will complement any home. For most people, the big problem with solar panels on the roof is that it doesn’t look appealing and doesn’t provide enough energy. Tesla’s panels are invisible when viewed from the street, and are fully exposed to the sun above to maximize energy. Each tile contains three layers, the bottom consists of the high-efficiency solar cell, next is the color lover film that allows tiles to blend in with the roof, and on top is the extremely durable and impact resistant tempered glass. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, promised that after installing his new tiles, “You’ll want to call your neighbors over and say ‘check out the sweet roof.'”

Tesla’s roof cannot rely on looks alone. The roof of a home has a lot to put up with, especially in Colorado. There is a variety of the wind, precipitation, and stray balls from the neighbor’s yard that the roof must protect against. Elon Musk has made claims that people could walk on the new tiles just as easily as asphalt tiles and added that the roofs were designed to withstand all kinds of environmental abuse. The roof has been proven to stand up to all applicable solar and roofing standards, which include building energy efficiency, waterproofing, electrical/fire safety, resistance to wind/snow loading and hail impact. Tesla also speculated that some of the glass tiles would come with heating elements that could melt snow and ice off of the roof, perfect for Colorado’s varied weather.

At the moment, these panels are still in the experimental phase and Tesla has a lot of unanswered questions to deal with. The main concern from the consumer is the overall cost of the roof. Musk has made claims that purchasing the solar roof will cost less than having to buy a normal roof and pay for electrical bills, but the price range of these new roofs is between $7,000 and $70,000. Also, Tesla has already announced that the shingles will require an added cost, a battery is needed to store the energy for nighttime when there is no power coming through the tiles. This could possibly get very expensive, but if Tesla is able to generate a low price for the roof then they would effectively save the consumer money.

While all of these elements of the solar roof seem great, it is too soon to tell just how effective this product will be. Musk has said that he will answer more questions and give hard numbers in 2017, which will help to determine if this roof is a green energy breakthrough, or an expensive and ineffective product. Right now, Tesla is trusting the aesthetics of their product, its durability, and the convenience of the ecosystem they’re offering — rooftop solar, home battery, electric car, all off the grid — to put them over the hump. Which, at the moment, is a package deal that will only work in high-end consumer markets.

Photo of Tesla’s different roof styles via Wikimedia commons under labeled for reuse