Not exactly how it works. The projects are leveraged off balance sheet with separate, often tax advantageous entities owning the panels in a complicated lease buyback structure. 'Losing money is a good thing' is not true if you understand time value of money and debt leveraging. I haven't done much research but Solar City is probably hurting now because Nevada renagged on gridnbuyback provisions and lots of other states are eliminating residential incentives and subsidies for solar.

Also although they were the first to do some of the complicated financing stuff, rooftop solar installation has turned into a very low margin business with lots of competition in most markets. It's not really groundbreaking stuff they are doing.