# SolarCity Residential solar installer founded in 2006 by Lyndon and Peter Rive, cousins of [[Elon Musk]], who was its chairman and largest shareholder. [[Tesla]] acquired it in 2016, and it now operates as part of Tesla's energy business. SolarCity is the company behind the Buffalo, New York factory that the state built and equipped for about $959 million and leased for $1 a year. Before the merger it collected roughly $501 million in federal Section 1603 renewable-energy grants; in 2017 it paid $29.5 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it had inflated those claims, without admitting liability. See [[Musk Government Subsidies Tracker]]. ## See Also - [[Tesla]] - [[Elon Musk Holdings]] - [[Musk Government Subsidies Tracker]]