Acquisition of SolarCity - Schedule of Unaudited Pro Forma Information (Detail) - SolarCity [Member] - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 7,539,077	$ 4,354,324
Net loss attributable to common stockholders	$ (609,395)	$ (1,017,223)
Net loss per share of common stock, basic and Diluted	$ (4.23)	$ (7.30)
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share of common stock, basic and diluted	144,212	139,327