Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 05, 2016 Plaintiff	Feb. 28, 2013 USD ($) Plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / yr	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Rent expense					$ 177.7	$ 116.8	$ 68.2
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 Amount					138.2
Lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Against the U.S. Government [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits filed | Plaintiff				2
Loss contingency, seeking to recover value				$ 14.0
Percentage of amount agreed to return in settlement of litigation	5.00%
Amount agreed to return received as cash grant	$ 29.5
Lawsuit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware by purported stockholders of Tesla challenging SolarCity Acquisition [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of lawsuits filed | Plaintiff			7
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 [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Non-cash investing and non-cash financing activities		$ 5.6			$ 86.1
Build-to-suit Lease Arrangement [Member] | SUNY Foundation [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Acquisition of manufacturing equipment					274.7
Additional specified scope costs					$ 125.3
Initial direct costs related to solar energy systems leased to customers					10 years
Operating lease, option to renew, amount per year | $ / yr					2.00
Lease arrangement, amount required to spend or incur					$ 5,000.0
Contractual obligation					$ 41.2
Maximum [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Terms of agreements to lease equipment under capital leases in months					60 months
Initial direct costs related to solar energy systems leased to customers					25 years
Maximum [Member] | Build-to-suit Lease Arrangement [Member] | SUNY Foundation [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Construction cost committed					$ 350.0