SolarCity was a solar energy company acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2016 for $2.6 billion. Since the acquisition, SolarCity's 125+ patent assets have been used for developing solar panels and roofing, along with developing Tesla's Powerwall batteries for residential clean energy. Since the acquisition, Tesla's solar business has been plagued with multiple lawsuits and challenges. Investors brought a lawsuit against Tesla when it came to light that SolarCity was insolvent at the time of the acquisition, Walmart brought a lawsuit over solar panel fires, and a class-action suit was brought over Tesla’s Solar Roof price hikes. Despite these setbacks, Elon Musk continued to build upon SolarCity's patent portfolio. In the first five years after the acquisition, Tesla added 135 patents and 125 patent applications (all assigned to Tesla) to its acquired solar technology. Among those assets are applications incorporating solar power into the roofs of Tesla vehicles and technology for solar-powered battery storage plants.
| Loading Documents... |
