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hard as making dry wall,” Elon said. “It’s really easy. In fact,
I’d say dry wall’s probably harder.”^363 The large problem
would be to convince the society to install solar panels
on thousands of rooftops. “You know, most of the taint is
around solar manufacturing,” Lyndon said. “Our business
model is totally different.” The siblings had realized that
they didn’t need to manufacture any solar panels. They
would just buy the parts and install them.^237
In a kitchen, Peter, Lyndon, and Elon founded So-
larCity in July 2006. Their vision was to create the most
compelling energy company of the 21st century by deliver-
ing cleaner, cheaper power through distributed generation.
Lyndon became the CEO of the company, and Peter the
COO as well as the CTO. SolarCity recruited their sister
Almeda for work with sales. The fourth sibling, Russel,
didn’t join them. He lived in Brazil where he married and
owned the interactive-graphics firm SuperUber.^102 Elon
visited him in Brazil. “It was the worst place I’ve stayed
since I was a teenager,” he said. “It stank, there were stains
on the sheet, and the bedbugs did bite. It was awesome. We
had a good time.”^54
His cousins would do the hard work, but Elon told them
he would provide money and guidance. They calculated
that they needed $10 million to begin the company’s hiring,
marketing, research, and development efforts. “It is a fairly
large round to show the company is serious about entering
this market and has enough capital to move quickly,” Elon
said.^104
While several companies are building large solar power