Last Friday, Tesla Motors and SolarCity’s CEO Elon Musk introduced Solar Roof, the roof with solar panels integrated into roofing tiles. The idea is to go beyond the traditional solar panels to be installed on an existing roof obtaining a result that is good also from an aesthetic point of view. This product can be combined with the Powerwall 2 batteries, the new version of the accumulators announced last year.

The idea of a roof with photovoltaic tiles instead of panels installed on the roof is not new but the companies that tried to sell this type of solution were unsuccessful. Now Elon Musk, who is waiting for the shareholder vote on the merger between Tesla and SolarCity scheduled for November 17, wants to succeed where others have failed not only relying on his own and his companies’ fame but also with an attention specifically to the aesthetic side offering tiles of different styles.

The main problem is putting together aesthetics and efficiency. Tesla and SolarCity have recently announced a partnership with Panasonic, a leader in the field of solar cells and batteries to develop optimal solutions for the solar roof’s tiles. The deal depends on the approval of the merger between Tesla and SolarCity.

Last year Elon Musk presented Powerwall, the batteries to be combined with a photovoltaic system that get charged during the day and provide the power needed to the house during the night. The second version of this system will be offered together with the solar roof in order to make the most of the solar energy produced and limit as much as possible the need to use the energy produced by utilities obtained via the normal power grid.

The even more comprehensive solution is one that also includes a Tesla electric car to be recharged with the energy produced by a solar roof. Practically, a solution that integrates all of Tesla and SolarCity’s key products. It’s a kind of ecosystem that ideally is supposed to be self-sufficient or at least allow a big saving on electricity bills and eliminate the need for fossil fuels for your car.

As often happens with new products of Elon Musk’s companies, the solar roof also prompted very different reactions. There are the skeptics but there’s someone noting that Tesla and SolarCity are creating systems that allow ordinary people to manage their energy production on their own. It’s a very important factor in a period in which wars are made to grab fossil fuels.