Tesla is now making more EVs that can double as a home battery

Tesla's new Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles can now send power back into the home to run it during an outage, as long as the house also has a Tesla Powerwall 3 battery. This builds on a feature Tesla's Cybertruck has had for more than a year. The setup works differently from most competitors: instead of requiring an expensive external device that converts the car's battery power into the alternating current your house runs on, Tesla builds that conversion hardware directly into the vehicle. That keeps costs down. Pairing a Model 3 or Model Y with a Powerwall 3 needs just a standard Tesla Wall Connector charger, which retails for $595, on top of the Powerwall itself ($8,200, plus several thousand more to install). By comparison, other automakers' vehicle-to-home systems typically require a separate bidirectional charger costing $6,500 to $10,000 or more, not counting a home battery.

Tesla says the combination of a car and Powerwall can keep a home running for two to three days during a power outage. Cybertruck owners have an even cheaper path, needing only a $1,990 hardware kit plus installation, since those trucks don't need a Powerwall at all. Industry watchers see this as a sign that cheaper, car-embedded backup power technology could become more common. For now, sending power from these vehicles out to the grid, rather than just to your own home, isn't yet available for the Model 3 or Model Y, though Tesla offers that option for Cybertrucks in parts of California and Texas.