SAN FRANCISCO - Tesla and Panasonic plan to collaborate on the production of photovoltaic cells and modules for solar panels, Tesla announced in a blog post Sunday night.
The non-binding letter of intent, which is contingent on shareholders' approval of Tesla's recent purchase of SolarCity, is a move toward creating "a solar energy system that will work seamlessly with Powerwall and Powerpack," Tesla’s energy storage products aimed at residential and commercial use respectively.
"With the aid of sales and financing capabilities from SolarCity, Tesla will bring an integrated sustainable energy solution to residential, commercial, and grid-scale customers," the post reads.
The PV cells and modules will be built in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2017, and Tesla said it would provide Panasonic with a long-term purchase agreement for the products.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that he envisions Tesla stores as being one-stop shopping outlets where consumers can get their solar panels, electricity storage units and electric cars.
Panasonic is already a key strategic partner with Tesla Motors as a provider of the lipstick-sized battery cells required in the manufacturing of electric vehicle power plants.
Tesla and Panasonic engineers currently are also working on building a cell assembly line at Tesla's mushrooming Gigafactory outside of Reno, Nev. Although batteries will be the first major output of the Gigafactory, eventually the idea is to have the plant produce the mass-market Model 3 sedan without units having to wait on battery shipments from Japan.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Panasonic as we move towards a combined Tesla and SolarCity," JB Straubel, chief technical officer and co-founder of Tesla, said in a statement. "By working together on solar, we will be able to accelerate production of high-efficiency, extremely reliable solar cells and modules at the best cost.
While Musk has first mover advantage in the increasingly hot electric car space, it remains to be seen if he can make mass adoption of solar energy both popular and profitable.
While the cost to consumers of outfitting homes with solar energy is declining, a number of solar companies have been having financial troubles. SunEdison went bankrupt last spring, while Sunrun's stock has dropped to $6.38 from an all-time high of $13.74.
In other Tesla news, Musk tweeted Sunday that he was putting off a planned Monday Tesla Motors mystery announcement to Wednesday.
Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava @marcodellacava
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