Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / yr	Oct. 05, 2016 Plaintiff	Feb. 28, 2013 USD ($) Plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / yr	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Lease expiration of facility				Dec. 31, 2030
Rent expense				$ 116.8	$ 68.2	$ 46.3
Initial direct costs related to solar energy systems leased to customers				20 years
Environmental remediation costs expected to be paid				$ 15.0
Minimum amount of environmental remediation costs in excess of which the company expected to pay				30.0
Letters of credit outstanding	$ 105.1			105.1
Lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware by purported stockholders of Tesla challenging Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits filed | Plaintiff		7
Lawsuit in the United States Court of Federal Claims Against the United States Government [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits filed | Plaintiff			2
Loss contingency, seeking to recover value			$ 14.0
NUMMI [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Environmental remediation costs expected to be paid by a seller after the first amount is paid by company				15.0
Maximum amount that can be spent on remediation activities				$ 30.0
Agreement term for governmentally required remediation activities for contamination, year				10 years
Build-to-suit Lease Arrangement [Member] | Construction in progress
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Non-cash investing and non-cash financing activities	$ 5.6			$ 783.9
Build-to-suit Lease Arrangement [Member] | Research Foundation [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Acquisition of manufacturing equipment				348.1
Additional specified scope costs				$ 51.9
Initial direct costs related to solar energy systems leased to customers				10 years
Operating lease, option to renew, amount per year | $ / yr	2			2
Lease arrangement, amount required to spend or incur	$ 5,000.0			$ 5,000.0
Contractual obligation	$ 41.2			$ 41.2
Maximum [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Terms of agreements to lease equipment under capital leases in months				60 months
Maximum [Member] | Build-to-suit Lease Arrangement [Member] | Research Foundation [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Construction cost committed				$ 350.0