Comment by ben_w

> Scaling photovoltaic production doesn't seem likely to have many broader implications on its own

Musk is suggesting manufacture at a scale sufficient to keep the Earth's entire land area tiled in working PV.

If the maths I've just looked at is correct (first glance said yes but I wouldn't swear to it), that on the ground would warm the earth by 22 C just by being darker than soil; that in the correct orbit would cool it by 33 C by blocking sunlight.