The Tesla Cybertruck Finally Gets A Feature That Was Promised Three Years Ago

The electric pickup’s most delayed feature is now officially available, according to Tesla.

Tesla Cybertruck Powershare

Photo by: Tesla

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Sep 11, at 8:37am ET

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Tesla made a big claim when Cybertruck deliveries began three years ago.
The electric pickup was advertised as being capable of powering an entire house through its charge port.
That feature, known as Vehicle-to-Home, is finally rolling out to Powerwall 3 owners.

The Tesla Cybertruck can finally power a house during an outage through a Powerwall system, the American company said on one of its official X accounts. The feature, known in the industry as Vehicle-to-Home (V2H), was one of the biggest talking points three years ago, when the first production-ready Cybertrucks reached customers.

Now, the functionality, which enables owners to use the energy stored in the pickup’s high-voltage battery to keep the lights on in their house during an outage, is rolling out for homeowners who also have Tesla’s home energy storage system. That said, it’s not without an asterisk.

Tesla said that the Cybertruck can do V2H only if there’s a Powerwall 3 installed at the house. That’s the company’s latest stationary energy system that can work in conjunction with a solar array to power a home and keep electricity bills low. Tesla’s Wall Connector home charger is also required to enable the power export feature.

According to Tesla, adding a Cybertruck to the mix can extend the home backup by over three days, which is equivalent to nine additional Powerwalls. Both the Powerwall 3 and the Cybertruck’s power export feature can handle up to 11.5 kilowatts on alternating current (AC), which should be enough for pretty much any scenario.

Tesla calls the new feature Powershare Home Backup, and several owners have reported receiving emails from the company asking them to take a survey before the feature is enabled for their systems.

For now, just the Powerwall 3 is supported, but Tesla said on the official Cybertruck X account that support for the older Powerwall 2 and Powerwall+ energy systems is coming by the end of the year.

“A first of its kind, ambitious feature to seamlessly integrate two different energy sources into one cohesive grid through the same wall connector used for charging,” said Wes Morrill, the Cybertruck’s lead engineer. Morrill added that the electric pickup has received numerous improvements since the first customer units rolled off the production line.

Back in 2024, Tesla pushed a software update to the Cybertruck that enabled it to keep the lights on in a house through a Powershare Gateway and Universal Wall Connector. The big difference here is that the Powershare Gateway doesn’t have its own battery, so it relies on the Cybertruck’s pack exclusively to provide energy backup.

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General Motors has been offering similar V2H solutions for its new-generation EVs. Prices start at $5,599 for a system that doesn’t include a bidirectional charger or batteries and top out at $11,897 for the all-in-one setup with the charger, inverter, and basic home battery. The installation costs extra. GM currently has 11 V2H-compatible EVs, including the new Chevrolet Bolt, which is currently the cheapest new electric car in the United States, at less than $30,000.

Meanwhile, the cheapest Tesla Cybertruck, the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive, goes for a little over $75,000. The battery-less bundle that enables V2H for the Cybertruck goes for $1,970, excluding installation. One Powerwall 3 kit goes for $16,000, including installation.