PG&E will pay California customers to let their electric vehicle back up their home during an outage, as part of an expanded Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot program the utility announced on August 24, 2026.
What PG&E pays
Enrolled residential customers get a $2,500 upfront incentive ($3,000 if you’re in a designated disadvantaged community), plus an extra $1,500 “early adopter” bonus for the first 250 people who sign up — up to $4,500 total. California Energy Commission grants can add more on top of that in some cases. Enrollment runs through June 30, 2027, through PG&E’s own V2X pilot program page.
Where Tesla actually fits
Tesla is listed among the program’s already-approved vehicle brands, alongside Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac. PG&E’s release doesn’t spell out which Tesla model or hardware qualifies, and it’s worth being precise here: bidirectional home backup on a Tesla today means a Cybertruck with the Powershare Gateway and a Universal Wall Connector. A Model 3 or Model Y can’t send power back to a home yet, so this program is a fit for Cybertruck-with-Powershare households specifically, not the broader Tesla lineup.
The video
Ryan Shaw covers the announcement on his channel, in a video posted September 11, 2026:
Shaw’s video is one creator’s take on the news. The incentive amounts and eligibility above come from PG&E’s own release, not the video — check pge.com directly before you enroll.
Photo by Elite Power Group.