Rogan then followed up again, asking if there was any potential for technological advancements that would allow solar energy to be converted into electricity in a way that required less surface area for the solar panels. “No, it’s a kilowatt per square meter,” Musk replied. “That’s what you’re gonna get if you’re normal to the sun, so 90 degrees to the sun.” Pressed again by Rogan, Musk responded by saying, “that’s just literally the solar energy, then you multiply your efficiency by that.”
“So if you’re commercial panels, maybe 25% efficient if they’re a good one,” he continued. “So you get 50 watts per square meter.” Rogan then recalled hearing something about a car that could use solar panels to power things like the radio, seemingly referring to the Fisker Ocean, but Musk didn’t directly respond to that prompt. “It’s just not enough surface area for it,” Musk continued. “But you can certainly run a house with solar. With the Tesla Solar Roof, you can run a house.” Somehow, this prompted Rogan to ask again if it was possible to fully power a car with solar energy, to which Musk again repeated that cars didn’t have enough surface area for such an idea to be feasible.
