Tesla Solar performance guide

Tesla solar panels carry a 25-year performance warranty and are rated for a 25-year lifespan. Most monocrystalline panels in this class degrade at around 0.5–0.8% per year, so you can expect roughly 80–87% of original output after 25 years.

Tesla panels are competitive tier-1 monocrystalline panels. Efficiency and degradation rates are solid. The main complaints from owners relate to the monitoring app and inverter integration rather than the panels themselves.

Common causes include inverter throttling, Powerwall charging limits reducing export, shading from new obstructions, or panel soiling. Tesla's app can under-report production if the gateway hasn't synced — check if the app figure matches your utility meter before assuming a panel fault.

Tesla offers a 25-year product and performance warranty on solar panels, and a separate 10-year warranty on the Powerwall battery. The Solar Roof tile warranty is 25 years weatherisation plus a lifetime tile warranty.

Not as a rule. Independent long-term studies suggest Tesla panels degrade at around 0.5% per year — in line with tier-1 monocrystalline. Early LID (light-induced degradation) in the first year is normal and not a sign of a fault.

If your system is producing more than 10% below the Tesla app's baseline estimate, or if any panel string shows a significant drop compared to others, a thermal imaging inspection can identify hotspots, microcracks, or inverter faults that aren't visible in the app data.