Fair Value of Financial Instruments - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maturity of cash flow hedges in months	12 months
Reclassification to finished goods inventory	$ 0	$ 0
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) net gain expected to be recognized into cost of automotive revenues	5,600,000
SolarCity [Member] \| Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Derivative notional amount	789,600,000
Gross asset at fair value	10,600,000
Gross liability at fair value	12,100,000
Recognized gross gain on derivative	7,000,000
Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding hedging contract	0
Notional amount presented as net settled		322,600,000
Reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings		0
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets [Member] \| Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Fair value of foreign currency contracts designated as cash flow hedges	0	7,300,000
Automotive Cost [Member] \| Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Reclassified gain from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) into earnings	44,900,000
Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unrealized gains (losses) on financial assets	$ 1,000,000	$ 1,000,000

Aggregate notional amount specified by the derivative(s). Expressed as an absolute value.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Article 12
-Section 13
-Sentence Column B

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Derivative notional amount, net

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Amount of the hedged item as of the balance sheet date related to the derivative. For example, the hedged balance on a debt instrument.

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Fair value, after the effects of master netting arrangements, of a financial asset or other contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset, expected to be settled within one year or normal operating cycle, if longer. Includes assets not subject to a master netting arrangement and not elected to be offset.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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Fair value, before effects of master netting arrangements, of a financial liability or contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset. Includes liabilities elected not to be offset. Excludes liabilities not subject to a master netting arrangement.

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Amount of increase in the fair value of derivatives recognized in the income statement.

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The effective portion of gain reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into income on derivative instruments designated and qualifying as hedging instruments.

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The effective portion of loss reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into income on derivative instruments designated and qualifying as hedging instruments.

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Fair value of asset associated with financial liability or contract with one or more underlyings, notional amount or payment provision or both, and the contract can be net settled by means outside the contract or delivery of an asset.

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Amount of gain (loss) from the ineffectiveness of the hedge.

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The estimated net amount of unrealized gains or losses on foreign currency cash flow hedges at the reporting date expected to be reclassified to earnings within the next 12 months.

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Maximum length of time over which the entity is hedging its exposure to the variability in future cash flows for forecasted transactions, excluding those forecasted transactions related to the payment of variable interest on existing financial instruments, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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Amount of unrealized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement on unsold other securities.

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