Tesla has expanded its Powershare Home Backup feature to include the Model 3 and Model Y, giving some owners of those electric vehicles the ability to keep their homes powered during an outage. The capability was previously limited to the Cybertruck. Using the feature also requires owning Tesla's Powerwall 3 home battery.
According to Tesla, the Model 3 and Model Y can stretch home backup power beyond two days for Premium and Performance models. That falls short of the more than three days Tesla says the Cybertruck battery can provide. The feature pairs the vehicle's battery with the Powerwall 3 to sustain a home when the grid goes down.
Support is not available across Tesla's full lineup or every model year. Tesla is only guaranteeing that Home Backup will work on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles ordered from October 1st onward, because not all older models include the PCS2 Lite inverter needed for the system to function. The feature is also not offered for the larger Model S or Model X.
Tesla has limited the feature's availability to the United States and Puerto Rico so far, with no mention of Canada. The company says support for the Powerwall 2 and Powerwall Plus is coming soon. Tesla's Powershare Grid Support feature remains exclusive to the Cybertruck.
Tesla is not the first automaker to offer bidirectional charging. Kia and GM also provide vehicle-to-home power on their vehicles. Nissan's Leaf offered power-to-grid charging years ago.
For US consumers, the expansion means newer Model 3 and Model Y buyers who also install a Powerwall 3 can use their cars as an additional source of electricity during outages. Owners of older Model 3 and Model Y vehicles may not be able to use the feature regardless of when they purchased their car, depending on whether their vehicle has the required inverter.
The news was reported by Electrek, which noted the hardware requirement affecting older vehicles. Tesla has not said when the feature will reach Canada or the Model S and Model X.
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