Tesla Expands Powershare Home Backup to Model 3 and Model Y

Tesla has expanded its vehicle-to-home power capability to the Model 3 and Model Y, allowing owners to tap their car batteries for residential backup during electrical outages, according to a report from The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1006193/tesla-model-3-model-y-powershare-home-backup).

The feature, called Powershare Home Backup, was previously restricted to the Cybertruck. It enables an electric vehicle to supply power back into a home during blackouts, though activating the system currently requires pairing the car with Tesla's Powerwall 3 home energy storage system. Support for older Powerwall 2 and Powerwall Plus units is scheduled to arrive later.

According to Tesla, Premium and Performance trims of the Model 3 and Model Y can provide more than two days of home backup power. That duration sits below the Cybertruck, which Tesla rates for more than three days of continuous power.

Hardware constraints limit which vehicles can use the feature. As noted by Electrek, Tesla guarantees Home Backup only on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles ordered on or after October 1, because earlier builds may lack the PCS2 Lite inverter required to enable bidirectional power flow.

The rollout excludes Tesla's flagship Model S and Model X vehicles. Geographical availability is currently limited to the United States and Puerto Rico, excluding Canada. Additionally, Tesla's Powershare Grid Support feature, which feeds vehicle power directly back to utility grids, remains exclusive to the Cybertruck.

Bidirectional charging has steadily expanded across the electric vehicle sector. Automakers such as General Motors and Kia offer vehicle-to-home capabilities on select models, while Nissan incorporated vehicle-to-grid power into the Leaf years ago.