This Device Tricks Your Tesla Into Thinking It's Charging. Then It Powers Your House Instead.

Tesla does not give most of its vehicles the ability to export power. The Cybertruck and the new Model Y Performance can send electricity outward, but standard Model 3s, Model Ys, and Model S and X vehicles cannot. Roam Energy built a device to change that. The PowerBridge Pro plugs into a CCS-enabled Tesla using a NACS connector and presents itself to the car as a DC fast charger. The vehicle believes it is receiving a charge session and opens the battery to what it thinks is an inbound current. The PowerBridge inverts that flow and pulls power out instead. According to the reviewer, this does not damage the car or void the warranty, and Roam Energy has sold close to 30,000 units of the first-generation version in Europe and the United States without reported issues. The original model, the PowerBridge Standard, tops out at 3,500 watts at 120 volts using two NEMA 5-20 outlets. The Pro upgrades to 7,500 watts at 240 volts through a NEMA 14-50 outlet, in addition to keeping the two 120-volt outputs. That 240-volt capability is the meaningful step forward. A standard home generator inlet wired by an electrician and paired with a transfer switch is all that stands between a Tesla owner and whole-home backup power during an outage. State of Charge's Tom ran a combined 3,300-watt 120-volt load using a space heater and a convection oven without issue, then charged his Ford F-150 Lightning at 240 volts for 40 minutes. The unit weighs about 10 pounds. It works with any Tesla that has CCS enabled, meaning 2021 model year and newer out of the box, or older vehicles with Tesla's retrofit, which runs between roughly $225 and $300 at a Tesla service center. The adjustable low battery cutoff, settable in five-percent increments, prevents the device from draining the Tesla below a chosen threshold. A mobile app for iOS was available at time of review, with Android support described as coming. One important note: the unit had not received formal safety certification from a recognized testing laboratory at the time this review was filmed, though Roam Energy stated certifications were in progress and expected before retail shipments began.