"Thank You, Elon" said my wife as she became a CT fan during power outage

[flyinglow]

So said my wife a few minutes ago, as we finished our hot supper.

Here in the mid-Atlantic we had an ice storm roll in overnight. Last night at dusk, a couple hours before the storm was supposed to arrive, I backed the Cybertruck up near the house, dropped the tailgate, plugged the 50' generator cable going to the well into the 240v outlet, plugged the 10 AWG extension cord into the 120v outlet, threw the tarp over the open tailgate, and called it good.

This morning, right on cue, the utility power went out.

My wife hadn't been particularly enthusiastic when I picked up the Cybertruck last summer. Today she became a fan.

How about thanking the Tesla team instead of just Elon.

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[HaulingAss]

How about thanking the Tesla team instead of just Elon.

When you have an unbelievably good meal and you give compliments to the chef, do you also make sure to compliment all the prep cooks, the restaurant manager, the food supply company, the utility providers and the carpenters who built the restaurant?

Just saying...

 

[carsly]

I still want PowerShare. LOLOL

You won't want Powershare when you get your Qmerit quotes! In many parts of the country, there is only one approved contractor and add the Qmerit ransom/markup and it's ludicrous mode set to ON. I could have my whole panel replaced, twice, for less than the Qmerit quote to install Powershare - and that's labor only.

 

[Tony2times]

How about thanking the Tesla team instead of just Elon.

Because Elon is the only one who matters. The genius. DOGE!

 

[HaulingAss]

You won't want Powershare when you get your Qmerit quotes!

That's the beauty of the Cybertruck. The 240V outlet is powerful enough to power most homes without expensive Powershare equipment. All you need is a regular generator input outlet designed for a generator to be plugged into. Oh, and a 50 amp 240 volt extension cord.

 

[Deleted member 17810]

How about thanking the Tesla team instead of just Elon.

And thanking the green movement push that elon and Tesla capitalized on.

 

[rtfitch]

So said my wife a few minutes ago, as we finished our hot supper.

Here in the mid-Atlantic we had an ice storm roll in overnight. Last night at dusk, a couple hours before the storm was supposed to arrive, I backed the Cybertruck up near the house, dropped the tailgate, plugged the 50' generator cable going to the well into the 240v outlet, plugged the 10 AWG extension cord into the 120v outlet, threw the tarp over the open tailgate, and called it good.

This morning, right on cue, the utility power went out.

My wife hadn't been particularly enthusiastic when I picked up the Cybertruck last summer. Today she became a fan.

Guys, we had only owned Blitzen for five days when Hurricane Beyerll hit, knocking out power in our Texas town for an entire week. And let me tell you—our Cybertruck was a lifesaver for the community.

Thankfully, we have a whole-home Generac generator, so we never lost power. That meant plenty of electricity to keep Blitzen charged and ready to roll. Meanwhile, with no power, gas stations couldn’t pump fuel—leaving ICE vehicles stranded.

So, who got tapped to shuttle people around, run supply errands, and act as the town’s unofficial taxi? You guessed it. Our generator powered the Cybertruck, and the Cybertruck kept moving while gas-powered vehicles sat idle.

 

[Ed1]

Can someone please explain quickly the pros/cons of generator outlet vs powershare? And why would the equivalent of a Cybertruck in Powerwalls be way more expensive? Sounds like you're just better off buying a used Tesla than actual Powerwalls with a generator outlet. Thanks.

Edit:
Just came across this informative video which answered most of my questions.

 

[carsly]

Can someone please explain quickly the pros/cons of generator outlet vs powershare? And why would the equivalent of a Cybertruck in Powerwalls be way more expensive? Sounds like you're just better off buying a used Tesla than actual Powerwalls with a generator outlet. Thanks.

Edit:
Just came across this informative video which answered most of my questions.

The rub is power output and automation.

Bed outlet limited to 9.6kw and needs to be reset every 12 hours to stay on. Would have to manually hit the interlock in your panel and plug in a cable in the event of an outage.

Powershare is 11.5kw and no reset necessary. If your truck is plugged into a newer Tesla wall charger that supports Powershare it will automatically fail over within a minute to power from the truck.

For the $7-8K difference, I went the manual route with a generator inlet. I tested and can run everything in my house, including two full-sized refrigerators, with no issue. I can only run one of two AC units, but that's a limitation I can overcome by installing a soft-start for both of them, but it doesn't matter enough for me to do so.

 

[flyinglow]

" Sounds like you're just better off buying a used Tesla than actual Powerwalls with a generator outlet. "

kWh/$ for an EV truck is going to be better than home batteries. However, you may not be at home to have the truck plugged in when needed, so at least some minimal battery is beneficial. This is somewhat mute if you have a generator but, so far, no one has offered a bi-directional charger system that incorporates generator power. Enphase has been promising one but nothing so far. Even if they do, it seems it will have a low V2H/G output.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

I had a generator input and swapped for powershare, it is a much better solution as long as I own the CT.

The only thing that will stink is if I sell the CT, and don't replace it with another bi-directional charging EV.

 

[Gigahorse]

My Tesla Power Backup Gateway is not live yet, so I plugged the Cybertruck into my generator inlet box which is attached to my house. This allows me to power my entire home for 5 days. I consume on average 17 kW per day.

I think the generator inlet with lockout should be the default option. Not as seemless but so much cheaper and really how often does power go out?

 

[Carlos Thomas]

I think the generator inlet with lockout should be the default option. Not as seemless but so much cheaper and really how often does power go out?

Very true. In the United States of America, power is pretty reliable.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

I think the generator inlet with lockout should be the default option. Not as seemless but so much cheaper and really how often does power go out?

This is also a fair point. Since my CT came with the powershare equipment ($1,500) and a $4,000 install credit, my total cost to change from generator input to powershare was $2,000 out of pocket. Even with limited outages, that cost is modest enough to make the install worth it. Now if I had to pay the full $7,500 out of pocket, the existing generator input likely would've stayed in place.

 

[HaulingAss]

Very true. In the United States of America, power is pretty reliable.

I know some Texans on the (largely) stand-alone ERCOT power grid that would beg to differ!

The ironic thing is that ERCOT stands for the "Electric Reliability Council of Texas".

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