1) The slight rebound in solar deployments in Q3 does not appear to represent a meaningful reversal of the multi-year downtrend. Investors banking on Tesla being “more than just a car company” should think again. $TSLA $TSLAQ

seekingalpha.com/article/429989…
2) Tesla’s solar deployments have been in near-freefall since 2016. Deployments declined from their all-time high of 253 megawatts in Q4 2015 to a low of 29 megawatts in Q2 2019 (thanks to @TESLAcharts for his ever-excellent visualizations) $TSLA $TSLAQ
3) Even with the 48% Q3 upswing, deployments were still less than 17% of the all-time high and barely more than half of the quarterly average set in 2018. Tesla has fallen to third place among solar installers (and is falling further behind). $TSLA $TSLAQ

marketwatch.com/story/tesla-sl…
4) Solar installs have fallen consistently, as have margins, while thousands of solar employees have been fired in multiple waves. $TSLA's installation numbers have only managed to hold up thanks to the introduction of discounting & rental schemes. $TSLAQ
reuters.com/article/us-tes…
5) $TSLA says it can produce+sell solar panels more cheaply than its rivals thanks to its online-only model. Yet its financial statements suggest that the discount pricing (by as much as 16%) isnt sustainable, as we explained in May:
seekingalpha.com/article/426066…
6) Solar panel production and installation is essentially a commodity business. Thus, while price cuts can help increase market share temporarily, it is not sustainable. Indeed, it appears totally self-destructive. $TSLA $TSLAQ
nytimes.com/2019/04/30/bus…
7) Even after two quarters of selling solar panels at an apparent discount, $TSLA's chief rivals have still managed to expand their market share at its expense – a poor sign for the future. $TSLAQ appears to be trapped in a residential solar death spiral.
forbes.com/sites/greatspe…
8) A big challenge facing Tesla’s solar business is that its brand, and that of its subsidiary SolarCity, has been tainted by years of poor service. Tesla now ranks among the worst solar installers, according to customer reviews. $TSLA $TSLAQ
solarreviews.com/installers/sol…
9) The safety of $TSLA's solar panels has also been called into question in recent months. In August, Walmart announced that it was suing $TSLAQ for failing to address faulty solar panels at a number of stores, some of which resulted in damaging fires.
10) A week later, Business Insider threw additional fuel on the fire with the revelation that, in the summer of 2018, Tesla initiated a stealth program, dubbed Project Titan, with a mission to quietly replace faulty solar panel components. $TSLA $TSLAQ
businessinsider.com/tesla-project-…
11) The safety questions raised by Walmart and the exposure of Project Titan have caused numerous corporate clients to rethink their purchases of Tesla solar panels. Amazon, for example, has announced it won't buy more systems from Tesla. $TSLA $TSLAQ
12) It's hardly any wonder that private consumers would worry about their own systems. If Walmart is not being taken care of, ordinary citizens can hardly expect better treatment. $TSLA $TSLAQ
seekingalpha.com/article/429989…
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