"It basically consolidates even further the vertical integration they had," says Santosh Raikar, managing director, renewable energy investments at State Street Bank. "Batteries will play a much larger role in residential solar in the future and there are some integrated residential solar battery players that are being implemented in the market." The deal is arguably a better value proposition for SolarCity than Tesla, with some characterising the deal as more of a bailout than an acquisition, comparing it to the Total acquisition of then embattled SunPower. Regardless of a less than welcoming investor reception, it is evident that the deal propels both companies into a space not yet seen in the solar industry. "It's pretty atypical to everything else in the solar industry," says Stacey Hughes, CEO at SunLight General Capital. "Tesla and SolarCity have done something really different which is to incorporate high-end consumer products.