The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) today issued a declaratory statement that affirms Tesla, LLC (Nasdaq: TSLA) can offer residential solar equipment leases in Florida. In its declaratory statement, the PSC found today that:

• Tesla’s residential solar equipment lease, through Tesla’s SolarLease, does not constitute a sale of electricity;

• Offering its solar equipment lease to Florida consumers will not cause Tesla to be a public utility under Florida law; and

• The residential solar equipment lease will not subject Tesla or its customer lessees to Commission regulation.

PSC rules have long allowed leasing of renewable energy equipment, as long as the lessor is not effectively selling electricity to the customer. Homeowners can purchase or lease equipment to generate electricity for personal use and also benefit from interconnection and net metering with their local utility.

In its decision today, Commissioners agreed for the third time in the past year that a solar equipment lease is not a retail sale of electricity. In 2018, the PSC issued similar declaratory statements for Sunrun, Inc., and Vivint Solar Developer, Inc. PSC approval is not required for a company to lease solar equipment to Florida residents.

“While today’s declaration is limited to the facts in Tesla’s petition, companies operating under the same facts can rely upon this declaration as well,” said PSC Chairman Art Graham.