Tesla bought SolarCity for $2.6 billion in November 2016. Elon Musk , who served as chairman of SolarCity, owned 22 percent of the stock. Tesla’s plans are to make the maker of home solar panels and roofs profitable by cutting costs and leveraging the synergies with its core EV business. Both sell to the environmentally conscious millennial market. Together with Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack products, the electric car and home solar products are part of Tesla’s sustainable energy ecosystem.