Tesla's customers are paying a premium for the tile's sleek look. Huynh's roof cost him about $100,000, though he did need to replace his roof anyway.
"I don't think this will ever pay for itself honestly," he said.
For people who don't need a new roof but want to install solar energy, traditional panels are definitely cheaper.
But Huynh is excited to be an early adopter and see his energy bill decrease.
"Traditionally in the summer my power bill is around $400, $450 in the summer. My last bill was only $40," he said.
Ultimately, Tesla's goal is to make the tiles a cost-effective option, partially by ensuring they're more durable than other rooftops. Tesla promises 30 years of solar-power generation.
"I would expect these solar roofing tiles, in just a few years, to be quite reasonably priced if they can get the market interest that they're hoping for," said Dan Kammen, an energy professor at University of California, Berkeley. "It's not just a roofing shingle anymore, it's a power plant on your roof."
Experts anticipate a wave of new solar installations within three to five years.
Tesla says solar roof installations will scale up later this year and into 2019.
"It's highly likely that great engineers and incredible technologists — and a lot of those people might be at Tesla — are going to be able to take this very difficult challenge and engineer the heck out of it and get us to that cost parity," Beebe said. "We're not there yet."
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