I just got a call from my installer. He told me the solar production meter needs to be in place so that I can test my system and turn on my Tesla inverter. I suspect that some installers may leave the wiring or “pass-through strip” intact in the production meter slot so that electricity can flow even without the meter. This allows some of us to “test” the system even without the production counter present. However, other installers leave the production meter slot open to prevent electricity from flowing through it without an actual meter installed. In this case, we cannot “test” the system or see the inverter turn on until the utility has installed the production counter and configured it to work. I'm not sure how I feel about this because the utility company could shut me off from my own solar production by simply turning off the production counter!