Tesla offered $5,000 to a homeowner whose $110K Solar Roof never produced power. A judge has deemed it liable for fraud Chris Morris Mon, November 9, 2026 at 12:30 PM EST 4 min read TSLA +5.14% Trade Tesla on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
In March of 2020, Ambrose Conroy agreed to pay $82,210 for a Tesla Solar Roof, a program the company claimed would carry the benefits of solar tiles using panels that are visibly indistinguishable from premium roofing materials. In the months that followed, the price tag grew to $110,000, following a pair of amendments, Electrek reports.
The roof, though, was never finished. In fact, it didn't even pass a county inspection and, most importantly, it never generated a single kilowatt of energy for the house. Now, a San Diego Superior Court judge has found Tesla liable for fraud.
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Conroy estimates fixing the damage to his roof would cost more than $2.5 million. Tesla [NASDAQ: TSLA], at one point, reportedly made a counter offer of $5,000, according to a lawsuit over the construction failure.
Tesla solar roofs were first introduced in 2016. CEO Elon Musk, at the time, presented them as an option that costs less than conventional roofing and solar panels, and spent $2.6 billion to acquire solar panel installer SolarCity. Within 10 years, however, Tesla discontinued the product.
Conroy's case presented internal communications about his experience as evidence, with several high-ranking officials on the chain. One message his legal team submitted as an exhibit, for example, showed Bobby Yang, Tesla's director of model engineering, discussing the project with others and using the term "experimenting" in regard to Conroy's house. The message also indicated daily progress reports were being sent to Musk.
Tesla, last month, accepted liability for three of the five claims in Conroy's suit as the company stipulated to breach of warranty, breach of contract and negligence. However, it continued to fight claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
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Judge Cynthia Freeland, who is overseeing the case, had sanctioned the company twice already, with penalties totaling just under $29,000, for failing to produce documents. With both of those financial sanctions, she warned that issue sanctions, which essentially declare that disputed facts in the case are taken as established, could follow.
On Sept. 11, she followed through on that, saying Tesla was liable for fraud and negligent misrepresentation, and future hearings would be focused on compensatory and punitive damages.
Tesla has asked the judge to reconsider that ruling, but she has reportedly refused. The case is still ongoing, and Tesla has asked the California Court of Appeal to reverse the order, saying it is "unduly punitive" and violates due process.
Tesla did not respond to Moneywise's request for comment.
While any sort of roof work can be a headache, Conroy's description of the work in the legal filing underscores what the experience was like.
The roof tear off was supposed to be a two-day job. It took two weeks. The roof was also left exposed and unprotected for long stretches. Making matters worse, scratched tiles were installed, while other glass tiles shattered on the walkway. The family says it still cannot walk barefooted in the area.
An electrical consultant, hired by Conroy, opened up part of the roof and said the way the wiring and conduits were run under the tiles greatly increased the chances of a short-circuit, which could have resulted in a fire during heavy rain.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Tesla offered $5,000 to a homeowner whose $110K Solar Roof never produced power. A judge has deemed it liable for fraud
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