Anyone behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 can road trip anywhere between 220 to 310 miles on a single battery charge, touts CEO Elon Musk, who also says the electric car company’s vast network of easily accessible charging stations allow drivers juice up no matter where the freeway takes them. But the problem still remains: What do you do if you’re stranded with no battery life?
Musk said on Sunday that stranded Tesla drivers might one day be able to flag down another Tesla driver for a jump.
On Wednesday, Twitter user Cody_Walker9 asked the CEO if Tesla cars will ever able to share charge between each other in emergencies and Musk responded, “Very early on, we had the ability to use the car as a battery outputting power. Maybe worth revisiting that.”
He didn’t elaborate on exactly how this power-sharing feature might look like if it’s rolled out, but it could potentially be used to power more than just another car.
Tesla vehicles make use of standard lithium-ion batteries the same power source used by smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches. Having the ability to output a Model 3’s battery charge could allow customers to use their car as an emergency generator to power their homes or to illuminate a campsite.
The Tesla Model 3
Tesla most likely hasn’t been focusing on these small details in the face of pressure to maintain a steady stream of Model 3 production. But after successfully manufacturing 7,000 vehicles in a month we could see this feature be made public after Musk has met the massive influx of demand for his electric vehicles.
The Model 3 is already putting pressure on fossil fuel-burning cars and it might just give conventional generators a run for their money, too.
