Elon Musk, chief executive of energy storage and car company Tesla has unveiled solar panels that also act as and resembles traditional roofing tiles for homes.

A report on British paper, Independent said the tiles are intended to be an attractive, simple and cost effective option for consumers moving to solar energy.

It indicated that while the products will be rolled out in 2017, energy produced from them can power electricity sockets, a fridge and lights in a four bedroom house.

“The key is it needs to be beautiful, affordable, and seamlessly integrated,” said Musk at the unveiling.

“If all those things are true, why would you go in any other direction?” he added.

As disclosed by Musk, although they are made of glass, they will be available in several patterns which closely resemble traditional roofing tiles, such as slate and terra cotta.

They will also be stronger than traditional tiling and, “should last longer than the house” they are on, explained Musk.

The tiles however collect only 98 per cent of the energy that traditional solar panels provide, but Musk noted that Tesla is working on improving the coatings of the tiling, which may improve its efficiency.

Also, a price was not released for the product but Musk said it would be cheaper than fitting a normal roof and solar panels.

In addition to the tiles, Tesla also showed an energy storage unit called the Powerwall 2 which main purpose is store reserve energy generated by the solar roofing