Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract]
Net income (loss)	$ (155,046)	$ (209,344)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation	32,141	34,968
Write off of property, plant and equipment, net	901	6
Revaluation of derivative contracts	26,761	(2,764)
Stock-based compensation	87,451	22,349
Loss on long-term REC purchase contract	150	60
Revaluation of stock warrants	(9,109)	324
Common stock warrant valuation	776	797
Amortization of debt issuance cost	2,906	2,294
Amortization of debt discount from embedded derivatives	16,597	31,578
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(11,168)	(2,093)
Inventories, net	(44,465)	31
Deferred cost of revenue	47,945	(64,786)
Customer financing receivable and others	3,736	4,392
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	(6,514)	(5,816)
Other long-term assets	1,052	2,948
Accounts payable	11,236	(2,311)
Accrued warranty	1,164	(1,766)
Accrued other current liabilities	1,885	2,030
Deferred revenue and customer deposits	(32,203)	87,551
Other long-term liabilities	10,156	34,453
Net cash used in operating activities	(13,648)	(65,099)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(4,333)	(4,063)
Payments for acquisition of intangible assets	(2,762)	(240)
Purchase of marketable securities	(15,732)	(26,825)
Proceeds from maturity of marketable securities	38,250	0
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	15,423	(31,128)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings from issuance of debt	0	100,000
Repayment of debt	(14,036)	(16,263)
Repayment of debt to related parties	(990)	(644)
Debt issuance costs	0	(6,108)
Proceeds from noncontrolling and redeemable noncontrolling interests	0	13,652
Distributions to noncontrolling and redeemable noncontrolling interests	(14,192)	(20,725)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	1,456	336
Proceeds from public offerings, net of underwriting discounts and commissions	292,529	0
Payments of initial public offering issuance costs	(2,928)	0
Net cash provided by financing activities	261,839	70,248
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	263,614	(25,979)
Beginning of period	180,612	217,915
End of period	444,226	191,936
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the period for interest	30,601	16,874
Cash paid during the period for taxes	1,052	368
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Liabilities recorded for property, plant and equipment	1,874	72
Liabilities recorded for intangible assets	3,180	0
Issuance of common stock warrant	0	9,410
Reclassification of redeemable convertible preferred stock warrant liability to additional paid-in capital	882	0
Conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock into additional paid-in capital	1,465,841	0
Conversion of 8% convertible promissory notes into additional paid-in capital	221,579	0
Conversion of derivative liability into additional paid-in capital	177,208	0
Liabilities recorded for initial public offering in accounts payable	1,431	0
Reclassification of prior year prepaid initial public offering costs to additional paid-in capital	5,894	0
Issuance of common stock	0	1,981
Accrued distributions to Equity Investors	288	855
Accrued interest and issuance for notes	20,101	21,737
Accrued interest and issuance for notes to related parties	$ 1,229	$ 3,207