The SolarCity Investigation

Ok, I admit it, I'm a bit of a freak, I already let you folks know that I'm a geek, but when something catches my interest, I always belive it's best if I can learn everything I can about it, so I can speak with some authority and understand the process completely. I had to know more about SolarCity and their approach to selling/servicing their product.

I did a lot of research on their website, read all that I could, looked up the stuff which wasn't well defined on their site in other places (thank God for Wikipedia and Google). I figured I was pretty well versed by the time I was done with my research. I saw that they were going to have a community event at the local senior center in about a week, so I registered and anxiously awaited the event.

Some background information on SolarCity:

• Company was originally two local solar installers working out of the Bay Area. The founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors (Elon Musk) bought those and consolidated them into the new company SolarCity
• They have an agreement with Morgan Stanley to purchase and install these solar panels and utilze the corporate rebates to make things more affordable to the average user. This allows them to offer a current promotion of a zero down 15 year lease.
• They have an online portal where you can view solar power as it's generated, and view historical generation.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I got a nice view of their little green Toyota Prius, with the SolarCity logo emblazened on the hood. The people from SolarCity were friendly and the presentation was informative (even had some new information which I didn't see on their website). The question and answer session was lively and lots of folks had questions and comments.

I filled out the slip to have someone contact me, and went on my way.