Solar, Powerwall, CT, and PowerShare?

[hemiarch]

I hear ya! I had a chance to pick up a CT in December of 2023 as an early reservation holder and decided to hedge my bet and hold off a year, to see if any incentives would come out. Fast forward to December 2024 and I purchased with supercharging for life.

Best of luck either way!

Good move. I would have save about $30k doing that.
Seems outrageous when I think about it now. That’s what I functionally paid to have the first Cybertruck on the block type thing.

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[Hookalakupua]

Good move. I would have save about $30k doing that.
Seems outrageous when I think about it now. That’s what I functionally paid to have the first Cybertruck on the block type thing.

I feel your pain as I just got lucky! With that said, you were the coolest kid on the block for a while and that’s priceless!!

 

[mongo]

Good move. I would have save about $30k doing that.
Seems outrageous when I think about it now. That’s what I functionally paid to have the first Cybertruck on the block type thing.

An extra year of payments for an extra year of driving

 

[LJ Wilson]

Why is Powershare so critical to the purchase?
I'd buy now.

Because a Cybertruck is essentially the equivalent of around 8 Powerwalls., and each Powerwall cost around 8K after the first one. That is essentially 64K in value if you need it. I have the same setup (Solar, 2 PWs, and Gateway) BTW.

 

[TeslaKen]

What credit? I can’t use PowerShare right now because it’s not enabled for solar+Powerwall systems, is my understanding. So I don’t have the added value of home backup from the CT. Cost of CT is significantly lower than equivalent kWh from powerwalls.

Let me counter. I have solar and 1 powerwall and like others I am waiting on the software to enable powershare so the truck can also participate. Meanwhile in my most recent power outage that lasted 2.5 hours, my powerwall actually gained power while powering the house because my solar was producing surplus over my power needs. About the only scenario where you need the powershare from the truck would be a long outage where your power needs are higher than your production and powerwall storage. I think the majority of what you will face you will find that the salar plus powerwall will address your needs.

In other words get the truck and install 1 powerwall with your solar and enjoy that until you get your software update to enable powershare.

 

[LeeS]

You do NOT need to wait for powershare or use a PS gateway. For the incredibly rare times when your PW's are depleted and your grid is down and you need power, you can backfeed your panel with the CT from the plug.

Buy it now, PS should not hold you up.

 

[Foraker]

Let me counter. I have solar and 1 powerwall and like others I am waiting on the software to enable powershare so the truck can also participate. Meanwhile in my most recent power outage that lasted 2.5 hours, my powerwall actually gained power while powering the house because my solar was producing surplus over my power needs. About the only scenario where you need the powershare from the truck would be a long outage where your power needs are higher than your production and powerwall storage. I think the majority of what you will face you will find that the salar plus powerwall will address your needs.

In other words get the truck and install 1 powerwall with your solar and enjoy that until you get your software update to enable powershare.

Agreed-CT would only come into play during long outages. That’s my objective. Thanks for adding the insight, though!

 

[Foraker]

Because a Cybertruck is essentially the equivalent of around 8 Powerwalls., and each Powerwall cost around 8K after the first one. That is essentially 64K in value if you need it. I have the same setup (Solar, 2 PWs, and Gateway) BTW.

I probably got ripped off, but my second Powerwall 2 cost $17k installed. I’m in northeast Ohio so there aren’t a lot of options for solar/battery installation, especially for adding to a system after initial install.

 

[hemiarch]

Let me counter. I have solar and 1 powerwall and like others I am waiting on the software to enable powershare so the truck can also participate. Meanwhile in my most recent power outage that lasted 2.5 hours, my powerwall actually gained power while powering the house because my solar was producing surplus over my power needs. About the only scenario where you need the powershare from the truck would be a long outage where your power needs are higher than your production and powerwall storage. I think the majority of what you will face you will find that the salar plus powerwall will address your needs.

In other words get the truck and install 1 powerwall with your solar and enjoy that until you get your software update to enable powershare.

Assuming of course the inverter on one powerwall is enough to run all your needs including AC and enough solar input to support all your needs. For our home, it’s barely enough so I have two. But I agree with everything else.

 

[Foraker]

You do NOT need to wait for powershare or use a PS gateway. For the incredibly rare times when your PW's are depleted and your grid is down and you need power, you can backfeed your panel with the CT from the plug.

Buy it now, PS should not hold you up.

Interesting! How would this work without PowerShare functionality?

 

[Foraker]

Assuming of course the inverter on one powerwall is enough to run all your needs including AC and enough solar input to support all your needs. For our home, it’s barely enough so I have two. But I agree with everything else.

I also have 2 powerwalls so I can have everything on backup. Wasn’t able to back up AC with just one.

 

[hemiarch]

Interesting! How would this work without PowerShare functionality?

Install cheap mechanical backup switch on your main panel and then use the 240v plug in the bed to feed your house.

 

[LJ Wilson]

I probably got ripped off, but my second Powerwall 2 cost $17k installed. I’m in northeast Ohio so there aren’t a lot of options for solar/battery installation, especially for adding to a system after initial install.

I have two of them. The first is the most expensive (the installation, etc is bundled in). My first one ran 13.5K. The second (installed at the same time) was 8.5k. I am in central Arkansas.

 

[Bill Carlson]

I have a solar and powerwall setup. I understand the appeal of PowerShare, I would also love if I could use the CT like powerwalls but I’m not holding my breath.

I know this doesn't comeletely solve the problem but a transfer switch with a 40A breaker behind it and a cable from the back of your truck to the transfer switch gives you a backup situation if you run low on powerwall. I know not optimal but that's how I am going.

 

[TeslaKen]

Assuming of course the inverter on one powerwall is enough to run all your needs including AC and enough solar input to support all your needs. For our home, it’s barely enough so I have two. But I agree with everything else.

I have 2 AC units and if I try to run them both off the powerwall it gets loud and runs the powerwall down fairly quickly, but in this instance I turned them off let solar charge up the powerwall a bit more then turned one of them on just to keep the house cool enough during the outage. I have a Powerwall 3 which can take those initial startup loads of the AC units.

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