Tesla has announced that its vehicles will soon be capable of bidirectional charging, which allows cars to send power back to power devices, homes, or even the grid. This announcement came during the Q&A portion of Tesla’s Investor Day event, where Tesla’s Senior VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, Drew Baglino, stated that Tesla could bring bidirectional charging to its vehicles within the next two years.
Historically, Tesla has opposed bidirectional charging systems on its vehicles, with only a few cars having the capability, and it’s often limited. However, with improved power electronics units, Tesla has found ways to reduce costs while enabling bidirectional charging.
Despite this announcement, CEO Elon Musk poured cold water on the idea, stating that few people would want to use bidirectional charging without a Powerwall. He believes that if an owner unplugs their car, their house will go dark, making it inconvenient.
One reason Tesla has not considered bidirectional charging a priority is that owners may not want to use it. For example, if an owner parked their car with 200 miles of charge and plugged it into the house, the house could discharge the car to take advantage of peak electricity rates, leaving the car with only 100 miles of range.
However, with robust controls and internet communications built-in, owners can manage demand. Moreover, the ability to sell power back to the grid brings up the point that owners need a compatible charger, which can cost thousands of dollars to install.
Despite this, there is still value in charging the car at the right time, which is cheaper and easier than using bidirectional charging. Tesla already encourages owners to charge at night when excess energy is available, and the company even announced overnight charging for $30/month in Texas later this year.
