Tesla has been late to the bi-directional charging game, only offering this feature with the Cybertruck. However, it wasted no time making fun of Ford in a Powershare promotional video showing the Cybertruck charging an F-150 Lightning. Tesla thus returned the favor to Ford, which included a NACS adapter with the F-150 Lightning for the same purpose.
If you ever thought Tesla was in harsh competition with legacy carmakers, this is only for the show. Behind the scenes, Elon Musk has developed close relationships with car industry executives. Herbert Diess is no longer the CEO of Volkswagen, but the German brand owes most of its current EV program to Diess's admiration for Elon Musk. A similar relationship appears to connect him with Ford's CEO, Jim Farley.
As the EV market leader, Tesla has been the subject of "friendly fire" from competing carmakers. After taking a bow before Elon Musk and negotiating NACS adoption, Ford CEO Jim Farley wanted to show "who's the boss" by calling the Cybertruck"a truck for Silicon Valley people." When Ford launched the 2024 F-150 in September 2023, the company's GM for North America, John Emmert, said the Pro Power Onboard could help "a stranded Tesla driver by powering up their car on the side of the road."
Tesla remembered this and waited for the perfect opportunity to return Ford the favor. If I didn't know better, the only reason the Cybertruck comes with bi-directional charging is to one-up Ford in this regard. And that it did, as the Cybertruck's Powershare offers bigger power capabilities than Pro Power Onboard in every situation. The Cybertruck can deliver up to 11.5 kW to your house instead of Ford's 9.6 kW. Also, the total power available through the outlets is 9.6 kW versus 7.2 kW in the case of the F-150 Lightning.
Ford also dared to ship the F-150 Lightning with a NACS adapter, specifically to allow people to charge a stranded Tesla. More than this, Ford delivered its first Lightning to a Tesla fan and Cybertruck reservation holder in May 2022. While Ford may not have known back then that it was almost impossible to remain stuck on the side of the road with an empty battery, Tesla certainly does. And yet, this didn't keep it from poking Ford in a similar fashion.
Tesla shared a new video promoting the Cybertruck's Powershare capabilities on its YouTube channel. The "Cybertruck | Power Anything" video shows how the Cybertruck can power your entire house, other EVs, power tools, "or even a party off the grid." Then, 17 seconds into the video, we see the Cybertruck pulling over to help a stranded Ford F-150 Lightning driver recharge the truck's depleted battery. It took Tesla almost two years until it could return the favor to Ford, but it pulled it off.
After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions. Full profile
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