Help me decide between Tesla and SunPower

Hi all, I have been researching solar systems and talking to vendors since a week. I am based in NorCal and my utility provider is PG&E if that is relevant to the discussion. Not considering battery option for now. After considering various parameters, I am deciding between Telsa Solar (the cheapest option) and SunPower (the expensive option). Based on my usage, SunPower suggested a system size of 5.06 kW which puts me at 143% offset. I am yet to get a design from Tesla but looking at their 7.2 kW option, it would put me at 178% (I definitely don’t need that much of a system size, but just using that to calculate their quote).

| | **Tesla** | **SunPower** | | --------------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------- | | Suggested system size (SSS) | 7.2 kW | 5.06 kW | | Rated power per panel | 400 W | 420 W | | No of panels for the SSS | 18 | 12 | | Estimated annual production | 10950 kWh | 8795 kWh | | Estimated degradation YoY | .50% | .25% | | Calculated energy offset | 178% | 143% | | Micro-inverter | No | Yes | | Cost | $19,368.00 | $21,571 | | Price per watt | 19368 / (18 * 400) = $2.69 | 21571 / (12 * 420) = $4.28 |

I have heard all of the horror stories from Reddit and a friend in the same area about Tesla customer experience and the dealys in installing. But when the difference is so much (the tesla quote will be much much cheaper for a 5.06 kW system, might even be 4 digits after the rebate), I wonder if I should take my chances with Tesla.

Another thing that comes up is the warranty for SunPower being far superior. But both are offering 25 year warranty on the panels and 10-12 on the inverters. Advantage with SunPower is that the 25 year warranty covers the inverters since they are micro-inverter based panels. If I sell this place in about 10 years, I would be happy if the Tesla panels don’t give me any troubles for that time.

Any advice? Am I missing anything else I should be considering?