Tesla has quietly enabled vehicle-to-load on the Model Y Premium in the US and Puerto Rico through an $80 adapter offering two 120-volt outlets and up to 2.4kW. The feature is still unavailable on Model Ys sold in Europe and Canada, and on every Model 3.
Tesla has started letting Model Y Premium owners take power out of the car. An $80 Outlet Adapter plugs into the mobile charger that comes with the vehicle and provides two 120-volt sockets, delivering a combined 20 amps, or up to 2.4kW.
The company has not announced it. The option simply appeared on the American configurator, covering the United States and Puerto Rico.
It has not appeared anywhere else. Model Ys sold in Europe and Canada still cannot export power at all.
The comparison that follows is not flattering. Hyundai has offered vehicle-to-load on the Ioniq 5 since 2021, at up to 3.6kW, with the adapter included rather than sold separately.
Tesla’s rollout has been unusually piecemeal for a company of its size. The Cybertruck came first, the Model Y Performance followed late last year, the Model Y L arrived with it last month, and the Premium joins now. The entry-level Model Y and every version of the Model 3 still go without.
What arrives is also modest. At 2.4kW it will run a fridge and a few essentials during an outage, there are no built-in sockets in the car, and there is no vehicle-to-home capability, so anything useful involves a long extension lead.
The hardware has never been the obstacle. Engineers found years ago that the Model 3 was already equipped to power homes, a capability Tesla has still not switched on for that car.
Europe is where the absence stings most. Utrecht has been running a vehicle-to-grid system with a fleet of solar EVs, the UK has run trials, and export tariffs across several markets pay drivers for the electricity they send back.
Rivals have moved into that gap. Hyundai and Kia ship V2L as standard across much of their electric range in Europe, and Renault sells vehicle-to-grid on the R5 with a bidirectional wallbox.
Set against that, two sockets for $80 in one market is the smallest possible version of a capability Tesla has been sitting on for most of a decade.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.