July 1, 2026 To: SunPower Management From: Baldous Gates Re: Exploring New Opportunities Dear Mr. TJ Rodgers and Company, I am a long-time investor in the better incarnation of SunPower since the CSLR days. Thank you for your herculean effort to bring the company back from the brink and trying to grow it in a sustainable way. Recent macroeconomic headwinds have been unfavorable, but I still believe SunPower has the potential and ability to thrive. Towards that end, I'd like to share some insights on the company's strategic direction, compiled after much deliberation. Although I'm not a financial professional or a person of particular importance, I am an engineer and attorney with a background in computer science, technology, and the law, so I'd be very much grateful if you could lend me your attention for the duration of this letter. I'll keep things general and brief. A. DAWNING OF A NEW AI The AI industry, once hailed as a game-changing, economic engine, is over-extended and facing a potential, dotcom-style meltdown. Whatever happens, the AI industry will return stronger and with better discipline and present an even greater existential threat to humanity. Amid this turbulent landscape, SunPower is uniquely positioned to toss its hat into the arena and emerge as a leader, not only in solar, but AI as well, leading the charge to develop and distribute technology that benefits rather than harms the public. Before outlining a strategic path for SunPower, a general discussion of the AI industry will help us establish the approach that will allow companies to find success in the future. Currently, public sentiment is heavily against AI. This alone, along with the dangers posed by the technology, likely will not sway politicians to regulate the industry, at least not right now. However, once the unemployment rate, accompanied by anger and resentment, nears a tipping point, the government will inevitably step in with rules and regulations. As far as specific laws, it is unclear exactly what the government will do. However, law is generally rooted in consensus morality. In other words, good laws tend to make sense and feel right. Given the vast destructive potential of AI (which I will explore in a subsequent writing), one moral law makes sense above all else: Human dignity must have priority over technology. To ensure humanity above technology, companies can adopt three principles to govern development and use. Namely, companies should strive to make AI: 1) distributed, 2) limited, and 3) transparent. Rather than describe what the three principles mean in the abstract, it'll be easier to show how they operate in sections (B) and (C) below, with examples specific to SunPower. By staying principled and dedicated to empowering human beings, SunPower can differentiate itself from other AI companies and be in a strong position regardless of future sentiment or potential rules and regulations. B. IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY SOMEWHERE The most obvious way for SunPower to participate in the AI economy is to provide power for data centers. With the Cobalt acquisition, this would be a natural transition, and the company could provide a major benefit, helping to reduce some of the energy drain and nuisance issues that accompany data centers powered by other energy sources. Entering deals to help power data centers would also increase SunPower's revenue in rapid fashion. However, I believe SunPower can be more and achieve more and should aim higher by becoming an integrated solar energy, AI infrastructure, and AI development company. In this section, we'll first explore how SunPower can excel as an AI infrastructure provider. Currently, public sentiment weighs heavily against resource intensive data centers, and NIMBYism stands as a road block against their construction. Given the headwinds against super-sized data centers, the obvious solution is to build micro-sized data centers. Individual homeowners can host boxes the size of mini-refrigerators, providing compute power while generating extra monthly income for the homeowner. Small private companies like Span (span.io) are already exploring the concept. With the Sunder acquisition and resultant nationwide footprint, encompassing residential sales and installation, SunPower is well-positioned to sell and install data center boxes, alongside rooftop solar. By installing such boxes powered by solar, SunPower can provide nuisance-free compute power. With homeowners potentially making $200-500 (ballpark) per month, they could potentially live in a home with low or no utility payments. By sharing the economic benefits, a distributed system turns homeowners into important stakeholders. Physical distribution also makes the system more resilient in terms of overall availability. An important ethical aspect of the micro-sized data centers is that they are limited in physical capacity and therefore potential compute capacity. This aspect encourages development and use of a variety of limited scope models rather than an all-encompassing, super intelligence. C. SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE Next, we'll examine the kind of software SunPower could run on its distributed data center system. The most obvious move would be to partner with a company like Anthropic to provide them with compute power. However, I believe it also makes sense to develop custom AI software, providing end users with AI models more suited for the limited compute potential of micro-sized data centers. Before delving further, a quick look at Nintendo's strategy for capturing the gaming market is informative. Rather than focusing on processing speed, blast or otherwise, Nintendo is famous for producing gaming consoles containing older technology and developing games with the previous generation's graphical capabilities. By focusing on usability, playability, and recognizable characters, Nintendo became a leader in the gaming industry. I believe the Nintendo Way can be a spiritual blueprint for the company to develop safe, user-focused, and human-centric AI systems. First, SunPower can power their data center boxes with older processor and memory hardware, lowering costs both upfront and for the end user. Second, SunPower would use existing, transparent, open source, readily available AI tools and data to develop limited scope models, focusing on usability, customizability, and affordability. It appears that certain tech giants are consumed with developing a do-everything, know-everything, super intelligence. However, a more efficient and beneficial approach would be to focus on the needs of the end user. SunPower could serve an overlooked market and provide cheap, efficient AI products to small and medium-sized businesses, especially if the economy struggles and affordability becomes a greater concern. The goal would be to alleviate small business owners of mechanical, chore-like tasks so they can focus on more important things. D. KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON [Note: I'm quite sure you know more about raising capital than I ever will, so this section is more for the attention of my fellow investors who might be reading this open letter.] To get the AI infrastructure and development projects off the ground, it might make sense to put together two small teams to work in a startup-like environment. They would set a foundation with a mini-sized data center within or near SunPower's main offices and then expand with a residential pilot program. The initial proof-of-concept could be done in-house at relatively low cost, but significant expansion would require significant capital. To raise capital, the most realistic scenario would involve bumps in share price, following announcements of activities in support of the new initiative. For example, an AI infrastructure deal with a company like Anthropic could raise share price and also help pay some of the bills in advance. With a high enough share price, perhaps a capital raise of $100M would be possible with acceptable dilution. The ideal scenario would be a $1B raise at $10B valuation. This wouldn't be difficult to imagine if we could light the Kitty signal and have Roaring Kitty jump into the fray, but the world rarely gets the hero it deserves. Barring a miracle, the next best option would be an above-market-value (<$10B) private placement with a sympathetic investor. Perhaps, Anthropic or someone like MacKenzie Scott could play the role of hero. Whatever the case, I believe a well-known, human-centric, AI company is a rare commodity, for which investors are searching. My hope is that retail investors, seeing the value in a company that actively works for the benefit of humanity, will rally around the company. E. SUNSHINE SUPERMAN In the long run, the companies with solid principles will be the ones that are respected, beloved, and ultimately successful. We are living through an era where principles have been compromised for short-term gains and technology is plagued by a void in responsible leadership. By establishing and adhering to good principles, SunPower has a generational opportunity to fill the leadership void and do incredible things. To that end, I believe SunPower will be best served by moving forward as a public benefit corporation (PBC). PBCs like Anthropic have shown that consideration of externalities can be a corporate asset and that companies that do so can have wild growth and success. The PBC form will give SunPower the structural foundation to pursue its mission in a principled manner and also let the world know that it stands for something greater than itself. By donning a cape, putting an "S" on its chest, and doing some good, SunPower can aspire to be a lasting company that serves humankind and inspire other companies to do the same. That's about all I have to say about my main thesis. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. Before bringing this letter to a close, I'd like to bring up a couple of miscellaneous points: 1. Mr. TJ Rodgers, I have sung your praises in my due diligence write-up from some time ago. Now, I'd like to spread some love to the personnel who joined through acquisition. In particular, I'm impressed by Mr. Max Britton, who strikes me as a person who cares deeply about his employees, truly believes in solar energy, and has the strength of character and principles that come with being an Army veteran. The story of AI is a pivotal chapter in the story of humanity, and we will need people of character and principles to light the way. 2. Having watched the company's recent Solar Guys employee recruitment ad, I was struck by the realization that the solar industry lacks entertaining and memorable ads for residential solar customers. It'd be great to see an ad campaign with a recognizable spokesperson. So, it's a bit silly, but I wrote a script for an ad, attached as Addendum A below. Not being a screenwriter, I'm ignorant of screenwriting conventions and formatting, but I tried my best to make it readable. In closing, AI has landed on us whether we want it or not. We can only hope for a world in which companies put people above technology. Eventually, the government will have a say in the matter, and I believe laws will favor safe, ethical AI that compensates regular folks. Within this landscape, SunPower is in a position to dream big and do extraordinary things, but it will take bold and swift action. The question becomes: Is SunPower up for the challenge? Again, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Warmest regards, Baldous Gates ADDENDUM A The Solar Warrior Copyright (c) 2026 Baldous Gates. All rights reserved. [Note: This is all a bit goofy, but I believe it's memorable. The ad's premise involves a Solar Guy who survives the apocalypse to become the Solar Warrior. Perhaps, dark times require a bit of humor.] [1: The scene opens with a close-up of the Solar Warrior. It is Karl Urban, wearing some cool shades and driving through the desert with a stoic countenance. He looks up at the rear view mirror. 2: The rear view mirror shows two post-apocalyptic junk cars, kicking up dust, chasing the Warrior. We see sequential close-up shots of the two goons giving chase.] 3: Gas Goon #1: You're mine! 4: Gas Goon #2: Kaaww! [5: Back to the Warrior. He isn't worried, and his face betrays a slight smirk of amusement. He reaches to his right, pulls up a bottle of Sunny Cola, and casually tosses it out the driver's side window. 6: The bottle flies backwards and smashes into the windshield of one of the goons. The goon loses control of his car and swerves. 7: View from above. The swerving goon crashes into the other goon, and both cars drop out of the chase. 8: The Warrior looks into his rear view mirror and cracks a wider half-smile. 9: With smatterings of Sunny Cola dripping down his face, the goon slams his palms against the steering wheel. 10: The Warrior drives off into the setting sun. 11: We see a surprisingly clean and nice looking house, prominently featuring a solar roof, within a neighborhood of half destroyed houses. A wheel and driver's side door enter the shot as the Warrior pulls up to the house and brakes abruptly. The Warrior opens the car door and swings one leg out onto the dirt. 12: The Warrior's hand, clad in a half-finger, leather glove, grips the knob of the front door and opens it. 13: The Warrior walks up to a refrigerator and opens it. After taking out a cold drink, he wipes his brow, then takes a healthy swig from the bottle, letting out a sigh of contentment. We hear a voiceover from the Warrior.] Solar Warrior: It's a crazy world. [14: The scene blurs out. As the Warrior speaks in a voiceover, the slogan appears as bold text on the screen.] Solar Warrior: Get Power. Get SunPower. [End]