If the hints of bidirectional charging play out, this image may end up looking a lot more like glamping. (Image source: Tesla)
An official colouring book at a Tesla service station has opened up the speculation floodgates regarding the brand’s upcoming electric pickup truck’s bidirectional charging capabilities. It’s unclear, though, whether the Cybertruck will also offer V2L, like its Ford-shaped competition does. The book’s phrasing indicates some sort of high-voltage or high-amperage output, rather than the standard 240-V and 120-V output other manufacturers have implemented, although Ford does offer nearly 10 kW with its 240-V V2L functionality.
Tesla has previously confirmed that some form of bidirectional charging is coming to its vehicles in the near future, but the details on when and how the feature will land have been sparse. A quote on the inside of a Tesla colouring book, posted by Greggertruck on Twitter, at a Tesla service centre gives us the first indication that the Cybertruck may be the first Tesla EV to get the feature.
“Has enough battery power to charge a Tesla,” reads the caption of one page in the Tesla colouring book, giving Cybertruck fans a hint at the upcoming Cybertruck’s vehicle-to-vehicle charging capabilities. How this feature will manifest itself is unclear as yet, but the specific mention of EV charging indicates that the Cybertruck will be able to output a fairly decent amount of power when it arrives.
The Cybertruck’s battery reportedly clocks in at around 100 kWh, making it a perfect candidate for V2L (vehicle-to-load) and bidirectional charging, and it’s off-road and towing capabilities put it in a good position to be used as an EV-specific recovery vehicle. How this plays out in practice will be apparent soon enough, if the Cybertruck’s rumoured late-2023 launch is any indication.
There are a number of other manufacturers, like BYD, Hyundai, Kia, and Nissan that already offer V2L and V2H (vehicle-to-home) capabilities, but charging another EV on these 120 V or 240 V AC power supplies — which top out at 3.6 kW, in the case of Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia — isn’t exactly practical. Ford, in its F-150 Lightning offers up to 9.6 kW of power via its 240 V Pro Power Onboard feature, which is certainly enough to charge another EV in a pinch — albeit slowly. Rivian, for its part, has promised that bidirectional charging
If Tesla implements features like bidirectional charging properly, it may end up proving Ford’s Jim Farley wrong about the Cybertruck’s lack of practical appeal.
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Julian van der Merwe – Magazine Writer – 256 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
My interest in tech started in high school, rooting and flashing my Motorola Defy, but I really fell down the rabbit hole when I realised I could overclock the i7 930 in my Gigabyte pre-built PC. This tinkering addiction eventually lead me to study product design in university. I think tech should improve the lives of the people using it, no matter the field. I like to read and write about laptops, smartphones, software and trends in technology.
Julian van der Merwe, 2023-07-14 (Update: 2023-07-14)
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