Brad,
Good research, here's my additional thoughts.

1. To your point about easy-in easy-out. I have asked for the clause which allows customers to opt-out if the price of energy drops - no answer. I therefore propose the scheme is an energy futures play - there is no opt out, and CR stands a 50/50 chance of going broke on a market rise, or windfall on a market fall. In no case will they have the financial resources if their futures get called in a rising market.

2. To your point about why MLM. There is no shortage of demand for PV components at $5 per watt. No smart investor would favor $1.50 a watt with risks when they can get $5 per watt at infinite volume with very little risk or complexity of say managing a national sales and install force. If CR can make solar panels that much cheaper than the market, they hardly need to waste time competing with local installers, as they have very little competitive advantage on the service of installation (They'll end up hiring the same installers, with the same costs, as anyone else).

3. My conclusion is that CR is trying to create a Scientology style social network - a blend of Celebrity, secrecy, progress-by-promotion, and science-fiction by playing on two social motivators: 1) owning the epiphany, or being smart in a world of relative idiots, or being right/righteous in a world of relatively wrong/godless/pagan/evildoers, and 2) reserving one's place in line for the new world order/eternal glory/next administration/next Microsoft.

Benjamin