Got a SolarCity System? It's a Tesla Now - and It's Getting Old.

SolarCity's signature product was the $0-down, 20-year lease - at its peak, roughly 95% of what it deployed was leased rather than sold. Those leases typically carry a 2.9% annual payment escalator, and the 2010-2016 contracts are now in their second half, expiring between 2030 and 2036.

If you lease: Tesla owns the system and is responsible for maintaining it - file service requests through the Tesla app, in writing, and keep records. If you're selling the house, budget time for Tesla's lease-transfer process (initiated from your Tesla account, with a transfer agreement and processing fee). We can't service equipment Tesla owns - but the roof under it is yours, and that's where we come in.

If you own it - bought out the lease, purchased outright, or financed - nobody is obligated to maintain your system, and a local shop can usually get to it far faster than an app queue.

Here's the part most homeowners learn the hard way. SolarCity bought Zep Solar in 2013 and mounted most of its arrays on Zep's rail-less system, which uses special "Zep Groove" channels built into the panel frames themselves. After the Tesla acquisition, Zep hardware became proprietary to Tesla - it stopped being sold to other installers, matching modules can be hard to source, and working on the racking takes Zep-specific tools.

That matters most when your roof needs replacing. Tesla's own published process for panel removal involves a service agreement, fees, a 7-10 business day response window - and up to a 30-day wait after the reroof before reinstallation. Tesla's policy does allow qualified third-party contractors to detach and reset the panels; the practical requirements are the right tools, careful handling of aging Zep-framed modules, and clean documentation so warranty and interconnection records stay intact. That's exactly the kind of seam work we do - roofing (C-39), electrical (C-10), and general building (B) under one license, one crew, one written warranty.

• A $399 solar system and roof inspection report - credited toward your job - production audit, wiring and connector inspection, and a hard look at every penetration a 10-to-15-year-old install has been making in your roof, with findings in writing.
• Diagnostics and repair on owned systems under an active C-10 license - SolarCity-era arrays commonly run SolarEdge inverters with DC optimizers; failed optimizers and aging inverters are the era's classic faults, and in many cases we can replace failed equipment at no cost to you under the manufacturer's warranty. Our inspection report tells us whether you qualify.
• Reroofs under leased or owned arrays - we handle the roof and the detach-and-reset planning so a Tesla-era array doesn't turn your reroof into a two-contractor standoff. (See: does a reroof end your NEM 2.0 grandfathering?)
• Monitoring and battery upgrades on owned systems - getting monitoring under your own name, and storage sized for NEM 3.0 economics.

Estimates are always free. One company, one license set - B, C-10, and C-39 - CSLB #1130793. Call (858) 541-1097.

A SolarCity array installed in 2012-2016 is now 10 to 14 years old - prime age for optimizer failures, brittle wiring, and flashing that's due for attention. Most of these systems still have years of manufacturer warranty left on major components, but claims get harder as records age. A one-visit inspection tells you what's working, what's failing, and what the roof underneath looks like - and the $399 report is credited in full toward any work you hire us for.

Different installer? See our guides for Vivint Solar (now Sunrun), SunPower, Titan Solar Power, and what solar actually costs in San Diego now.