Walmart and Amazon Sue Tesla, Solar Panels Blamed for Fires

Walmart is suing Tesla alleging that some of the company's solar panels sparked roof fires at several of its locations. According to Walmart, Tesla's solar panels were responsible for at least seven fires that destroyed significant amounts of store merchandise and necessitated substantial repairs to buildings, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Walmart wants Tesla to remove the panels from over 240 Walmart store roofs and cover the costs. Walmart's push for solar power generation on its store roofs dates back more than a decade, and was announced with much fanfare. Similarly, Amazon alleges a June 2018 blaze on one of its warehouse roofs involved a solar panel that Tesla had installed. Unlike Walmart, Amazon only has a very small number of solar systems installed by Tesla. Both companies want their solar systems to operate reliably, efficiently, and safely.