Serious questions about the solar option available in the Prime:

Even down to the correct colour.

 

I'm still salty you guys got yellow and we didn't. lol

(Though I've embraced the red since then, since I'm slowly switching my interior to the black/red combo.)

 

Alternatively - there's >90% UV/IR ppf that's typically used solely on glass auto roofs. Pricy - especially if applied to the entire car.
.

 

Mine comes with solar panel and I see it as a playful gimick - similar to eg the seat ventilation theres not much point to calculate whether you get back the cost. Especially as youre forced to buy it anway for the higher trims in Europe.
I doubt its too much different in the states - while you still have the theoretical option to configure solae yes/no it seems to come down in the end what cars are actually available and where.

As for the solar panel itself, does anyone have clearer technical details regarding minimal energy that must be generated for the charger to actually charge the battery? Some kind of cutoff?

 

If you record the EV range, let’s say it’s at 20 miles or 32 km, then leave it in the sunlight for at least one full day (unplugged), do you see the range increase to 23 miles or more / 37 km? What about if you leave it for 15 days in direct sunlight, like at the airport…do you get a full charge?

 

This is fantastic!
The area of solar panels on the roof of a car does not provide much energy. Most of the light is reflected or heats the panel body. For home use and charging backup batteries, a large panel area of several tens or hundreds of square meters is needed.
And not all airports are flooded with sunlight for 15 days))

 

Toyota was saying something like 4 miles a day.
@fuzzy1 worked out some annual miles from the solar in another thread. In L.A., it was 1100 to 50 miles a year depending on the season.

 

My wife just got hers on Friday, and will be a prime (heh pun) candidate for it: drives approximately 35 miles a day round trip, and car sits outside at the office. Very curious to see how it works for her.

if nothing else it does give a smidgen more headroom inside, compared to the glass roof I think. She had zero interest in the glass roof aspect, and the nerd in me enjoys the idea of the solar roof.

 

A tinfoil hat will help you save your brain, survive all hybrid disasters, and even evil aliens.))