Tesla has announced a pilot program that will give Cybertruck owners credits toward their electric bills for supporting the state’s power grid.
How It Works
Tesla Cybertrucks are equipped with a technology called Powershare. This allows the vehicle’s battery to power electrical appliances or your home. When outages occur, energy from the Cybertruck’s battery will automatically serve as a backup power source for your home.
Using this same technology, Powershare Grid Support, as Tesla calls it, allows Cybertrucks to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events. If you contribute to the community’s energy needs during these events, you will receive credit on your energy bill under the program.
These events are infrequent but often happen at short notice, so Tesla emphasizes that it’s important to have your vehicle ready if needed. To ensure the vehicle has enough energy to contribute to the grid at any given moment, you can keep the vehicle plugged in at all times when at home, even if it doesn’t need to be charged.
You can also limit your Powershare to use only what you need, which will ensure that the vehicle discharges during one of the high-demand events.
Where It’s Happening
The early adopter program is currently rolling out in Texas in areas that are serviced by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor. Unlike other states, the Texas grid operates mostly independently from the major national connections, which means it has limited ability to import power during emergencies. Having a program like this could be largely effective for a state with a relatively unpredictable power grid like Texas.
Tesla plans to expand this program to California next. Ford launched a similar program in Southern California in 2024, becoming the first major automaker to participate in Southern California Edison’s Emergency Loan Reduction Program.
Who Can Participate
For Texas participants, the program is open by invitation only through Tesla’s Early Adopter Program. Once the program is in full swing, any customers who meet the eligibility criteria will be able to participate. Eligibility requirements are as follows:
- Have a Powershare-capable vehicle (only currently available on Cybertrucks)
- Have Powershare equipment installed in your home
- Enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive Plan
- Opt in to Powershare Grid Support in the Tesla App
It’s important to emphasize that in order to be eligible for this program, you must have an electric vehicle (Cybertruck) and you must have Tesla’s specific Powershare equipment installed in your home. This may cost thousands of dollars to set up. This program might be better suited to people who already have each of these things.
If you do not, there’s no need to rush out and buy these components if you believe you’ll have a chance to save a lot of money. In theory, if this were to become more widespread, this could be a helpful backup in emergencies. For now though, since it’s such a small program, it may not pay for itself entirely.
