Elon Musk ties to SolarEdge cast long shadow on already troubled stock

New York

FOR SolarEdge Technologies Inc, ties with Elon Musk are no longer something to brag about.

The Silicon Valley billionaire's SolarCity Corp is the biggest buyer of its components for photovoltaic systems. That turned SolarEdge into a darling of investors until its top client announced it would scale back installations of panels. Shares of the Israeli company that had soared as high as US$42 are back down at US$18, the price of their March trading debut in New York.

The broader concern is whether the solar industry can live without government support. The expiration of US tax credits for the renewable energy source at the end of 2016 sparked a selloff that has engulfed SolarEdge, whose executives are now trying to assure shareholders that the company will continue to grow regardless of SolarCity'…