Tesla completed its acquisition of SolarCity in 2016.
Tesla announced the planned acquisition in August 2016, describing it as a step toward combining electric vehicles, batteries, and solar energy products. Shareholders of both companies approved the transaction in November 2016, and the deal closed later that month.
SolarCity had been founded in 2006 by brothers Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive, with Elon Musk serving as chairman. Before the acquisition, it became one of the largest residential solar-installation companies in the United States.
After the transaction, SolarCity’s solar-generation and energy-storage activities were integrated into Tesla’s broader energy business. The deal is sometimes confused with Tesla’s later branding of solar products under Tesla Energy, but the acquisition itself took place in 2016.