Tesla News: Elon Musk Relaunches Tesla Solar Panel Business

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Sunday that he was relaunching Tesla's solar panel services, offering solar panel rentals, which Musk believes could save homeowners $500 a year in utility bills.

Musk touted the solar panels as a "money printer" for Americans who live in parts of the U.S. where electricity is expensive.

By offering a Tesla solar panel rental service, consumers can get solar energy to power their homes for $50 a month, without any long-term contract.

The solar rental service is available in six states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Mexico.

Musk has promoted the power of solar energy with the claim that a "small corner of Texas with solar panels could power the entire United States."

In addition to Tesla solar panels, the company offers a solar energy storage battery, which is called the Tesla Powerwall. The battery can take homes off their local electrical grids and has proven that it can power houses even during electricity outages in the surrounding area.

"By using the Tesla app with an integrated solar panel and Powerwall system, you can practice better energy conservation and lower your costs, especially in areas where utilities offer Net Energy Metering," it says on Tesla's website.

In July, Tesla announced the Megapack, a large battery pack which can store up to 3 megawatt-hours of solar or wind energy and can be used for industrial or residential purposes. The company said it can be installed faster and is more cost-effective than a fossil-fuel plant.