Walmart Sues Tesla Over Solar Panels Reportedly Catching Fire

As you probably know, Walmart supermarkets are pretty huge and, as such, have a lot of space available on the roof. It does, therefore, make more than a little sense to try and optimise that by deploying solar panels to try and run a little greener and off-set your electric running costs. It seems, however, that several of their stores which have the Tesla supplied panels have been getting some pretty major problems!

In a report via Engadget, after reporting fires at 7 of their store locations (directly attributed to the panels), Walmart is officially suing Tesla over what they call ‘unsafe installation practices’.

Walmart Sues Tesla

Walmart has alleged that the solar panels, installed at over 240 of their store locations, have been fitted poorly. Specifically, and perhaps most worrying, that none of them have been grounded. This, in very basic terms, is a fail-safe to prevent high voltages accumulating. In addition, they also alleged that the ‘inspectors’ Tesla sent “lacked basic solar training and knowledge.”

With the panels reportedly the source of fires at 7 store locations, Walmart is suing Tesla not only for damages but also to remove the panels from all of their stores. Remember again, that’s 240 of them! That’s a lot of panels to remove and, quite frankly, we don’t think Tesla is going to do it. At least, not without a fight!

What Do We Think?

Despite the popularity of their cars, Tesla is really struggling to win business with its solar panel systems. As such, removing them from one of America’s biggest retailers might be a step too far for them (in terms of PR disasters) to reach an agreement.

As such, we suspect that this one is likely going to go through some heavy litigation. Based on the health & safety implications, it will be interesting to see what Walmart does in the interim!

What do you think? Do you have any solar panels at your home or work? – Let us know in the comments!