Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)	$ (323,466)	$ (291,276)	$ (295,028)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	78,584	53,887	54,376
Write-off of property, plant and equipment, net	3,117	939	48
Write-off of customer financing receivable	11,302	0	0
Write-off of PPA II and PPA IIIb decommissioned assets	70,543	0	0
Debt make-whole expense	5,934	0	0
Revaluation of derivative contracts	2,779	29,021	15,042
Stock-based compensation	196,291	168,482	29,101
Loss (gain) on long-term REC purchase contract	53	200	(70)
Revaluation of stock warrants	0	(9,108)	(2,975)
Amortization of debt issuance cost	22,130	25,437	47,312
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	51,952	(55,023)	3,242
Inventories	18,425	(36,974)	(10,636)
Deferred cost of revenue	(21,992)	14,223	(31,278)
Customer financing receivable and other	5,520	4,878	5,459
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	8,643	(8,032)	(982)
Other long-term assets	3,618	(202)	756
Accounts payable	(11,310)	18,307	7,076
Accrued warranty	(6,603)	1,498	(7,365)
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	6,728	(5,984)	7,997
Deferred revenue and customer deposits	37,146	(21,774)	48,322
Other long-term liabilities	4,376	19,553	37,637
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	163,770	(91,948)	(91,966)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(51,053)	(45,205)	(61,454)
Payments for acquisition of intangible assets	0	(3,256)	0
Purchase of marketable securities	0	(103,914)	(29,043)
Proceeds from maturity of marketable securities	104,500	27,000	2,250
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	53,447	(125,375)	(88,247)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings from issuance of debt	0	0	100,000
Repayment of debt	(119,277)	(18,770)	(20,507)
Repayment of debt to related parties	(2,200)	(1,390)	(912)
Debt make-whole payment	(5,934)	0	0
Debt issuance costs	0	0	(6,108)
Proceeds from financing obligations	72,334	70,265	84,314
Repayment of financing obligations	(8,954)	(6,188)	(3,210)
Proceeds from noncontrolling and redeemable noncontrolling interests	0	0	13,652
Payments to noncontrolling and redeemable noncontrolling interests	(56,459)	0	0
Distributions to noncontrolling and redeemable noncontrolling interests	(12,537)	(15,250)	(23,659)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	12,713	1,521	432
Proceeds from public offerings, net of underwriting discounts and commissions	0	292,529	0
Payments of initial public offering issuance costs	0	(5,521)	(1,092)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(120,314)	317,196	142,910
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	96,903	99,873	(37,303)
Beginning of period	280,485	180,612	217,915
End of period	377,388	280,485	180,612
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the period for interest	69,851	59,549	37,628
Cash paid during the period for taxes	860	1,748	616
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Liabilities recorded for property, plant and equipment	1,745	12,236	975
Liabilities recorded for intangible assets	0	3,180	2,138
Issuance of common stock warrant	0	0	9,410
Reclassification of redeemable convertible preferred stock warrant liability to additional paid-in capital	0	882	0
Conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock into additional paid-in capital	0	1,465,841	0
Conversion of 8% convertible promissory notes into additional paid-in capital	0	181,469	0
Conversion of 6% and 8% convertible promissory notes into additional paid-in capital to related parties	6,933	40,110	0
Reclassification of derivative liability into additional paid-in capital	0	177,208	0
Reclassification of prior year prepaid initial public offering costs to additional paid-in capital	0	4,732	0
Issuance of common stock	0	0	1,981
Issuance of restricted stock	0	0	1,254
Accrued distributions to Equity Investors	373	576	576
Accrued interest for notes	1,812	19,041	29,705
Accrued interest for notes to related parties	$ 0	$ 2,733	$ 4,368