GM demos its new Energy products by running a mansion off a Silverado EV
GM has a new suite of energy products that allow you to share power between your car and your home, and we got to see them in action.
GM invited us to a swanky house in Beverly Hills to demonstrate its new home energy products, including vehicle-to-home (V2H) backup power that allows you to power your house off of your EV battery.
These products include its new bidirectional EV charger, which it’s calling the GM Energy Powershift Charger ($1,699), and the GM Energy V2H Enablement Kit ($5,600) which comes with AC-DC inverter, Home Hub (the computer which manages loads through the house), and dark start battery (provides a small amount of power as the system starts up and shifts from home to vehicle power).
The systems can be bought separately or bundled together for $7,299. Installation is separate (and costs can vary widely), and GM has partnered with Qmerit, a national EV charging installation company, to make it easier for customers to find an installer.
GM set up its system and brought out two new Silverados to demonstrate both their vehicle-to-load (V2L) and V2H capabilities. One Silverado was connected to the outdoor speakers and screen running the presentation GM gave us on its products, and the other was connected to the house to show what happens when the V2H changes over from home to truck power.
To do so, GM flipped the main breaker for the house, then showed us the process of of the car taking over. It took around 35 seconds – much longer than other battery backup solutions, but quicker than sitting puzzled in the dark, stumbling to find a flashlight, going to the breaker box to flip switches uselessly and then concluding that you’ll be spending the rest of the night reading by candlelight.
But once the takeover happened, the whole party was being powered by the truck. The lights and music in the garage and throughout the house were powered by the truck, along with the kitchen where the hors d’oeuvres were being prepared.
The car is capable of putting out 9.6kW – enough to power most of your everyday needs, but not high simultaneous loads (i.e. don’t run the pool pump and the dryer at the same time as everything else), though all of this depends on how energy-hungry your house is. And the Silverado’s massive 200kWh battery pack can power an average American home for around 5-6 days. GM told us the system was powering about 60% of the 10,000 square-foot house the demonstration happened in.
GM says it is working to reduce the amount of time the switchover from grid to car power takes, but that it will inevitably be slower than home battery solutions (which can respond in only a couple seconds, or even less than a second) because those stay continually energized, whereas the car requires more communication and a wake-up process.
Speaking of home battery solutions, GM Energy also plans to sell one of those, though that unit won’t be for sale until later this year (same with solar integration, which will also come this year). Batteries will be available in 10, 17, and 35kWh packages. The systems are built with stacks of modular units, each 1.7kWh, so the packages come with either 6 or 10 stacked units.
This battery backup solution will take “less than 5 seconds” to take over, though we think (or hope) that GM is being conservative with that. Competing home energy products like Tesla’s Powerwall can take over as quickly as around 200 milliseconds, and we’ve heard of others coming that might be even faster. But the battery wasn’t connected for the purposes of this demonstration.
GM wants to see this product rolled out in as many houses as possible, and in service of that, plans to have V2H support on all of it’s electric vehicles by 2026. It told us that these cars would all be capable of 9.6kW output, so you won’t need a 200kWh Silverado to power your house, you’ll also be able to do it with the $35k entry-level Equinox, or eventually with Chevy’s upcoming “Boltium” next-gen Bolt EV.
This is a contrast to most other EV makers – Hyundai and Kia have V2L on their vehicles, but only up to 1.8kW; Ford has its Intelligent Backup Power system, but only on the F-150 Lightning; Tesla has Powershare, but only on Cybertruck; Rivian wants to get around to offering bidirectional charging, but isn’t there yet – and so on. GM does seem more committed on this front than anyone else at this time.
GM’s electric vehicles will be compatible with GM Energy’s products, though won’t be cross-compatible with other battery backup and bidirectional charging systems in the short term. Eventually there will be cross-compatibility, but first the ISO 15118 standard, which governs Plug & Charge & bi-directional/V2G communication, needs to be finalized, which is taking quite some time (read a little more about that here).
GM also plans to build a virtual power plant, as we’ve seen other energy services companies do, which aggregates the energy available from hundreds or thousands of customers and discharges it to the grid when needed. These can be quite lucrative for owners of battery backup systems, though GM hasn’t decided exactly how it will offer these products to its customers yet, and is exploring various financial possibilities to encourage usage.
That’s important, because the system isn’t cheap. As mentioned above, even without the battery, the whole thing costs $7,299 before installation (installation can be very costly – though that was an exceptional case). That’s quite steep just for the gimmick of being able to run your house off of your car, so offering incentives to make that more palatable will help increase uptake. It’s a bit more expensive than Ford’s competing V2H product, comparable to the cost of home generators, and cheaper than home battery backup systems.
But while it does seem a little gimmicky at first glance, the dream of widespread bidirectional power has been talked about among EV advocates for some time, and could solve a lot of energy issues.
Even just V2H (which allows powering a home, but not feeding energy back into the grid – that’s V2G) can reduce loads when the grid is most stressed, and reduce energy costs for a home by allowing energy arbitrage, charging a battery at times when power is cheap and then running the house off of the battery when power is expensive and dirty. It leads to lower energy bills, and can help grid resiliency by having distributed battery backup in a large percentage of homes.
It’s an exciting possibility, but to get there, we need to get a lot of batteries in homes. And whether they’re stacked on the floor in the garage or parked and plugged in inside of it, GM’s ready to sell you those batteries (*car sometimes included).
You can find out more about GM’s home Energy products at its GM Energy website. At first, availability is limited to California, Florida, Michigan, New York and Texas, but GM plans to expand beyond those boundaries over time.
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Tesla (TSLA) board members have received a wake-up call letter from eight state treasurers, asking them to fulfill their duties and supervise the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.
Will they ignore this warning as well?
There have been concerns about Tesla’s board sleeping at the wheel for a while now.
Their job is to oversee Tesla’s management for the benefit of shareholders, but Tesla’s stock is down almost 40% this year while the CEO is splitting his time between 6 different companies and projects while alienating most of Tesla’s consumer base.
Yet, the board hasn’t said a word about it.
The situation lends weight to the argument that the board is entirely under Musk’s control, which is the main point of contention in Tesla’s $55 billion CEO compensation case.
Now, eight state treasurers have joined forces to raise their concerns with the board. They wrote in a letter addressed to Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla’s board:
We are increasingly concerned that Tesla’s recent performance signals deeper governance and leadership challenges that, if left unaddressed, could have serious consequences for the company and its stakeholders. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Tesla’s stock declined by 36%. The company missed delivery targets, recalled a substantial number of vehicles, and experienced a surge in trade-ins for competing brands. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk continues to divide his attention across multiple companies and a high-profile advisory role within the federal government. These external commitments raise serious questions about whether Tesla’s leadership is fully engaged in addressing the company’s core challenges.
In the letter, the treasurers remind Tesla’s board of its duty “to provide strong oversight, uphold fiduciary standards, and ensure that the company’s leadership is aligned with the long-term best interests of the company.”
They are directly asking the board three questions:
- How is the Board ensuring that Mr. Musk and Tesla’s leadership team are devoting adequate time and focus to resolving recent performance issues and guiding the company’s future direction?
- In light of the company’s underperformance, how is the Board evaluating whether executive compensation remains aligned with shareholder value and corporate accountability?
- How does the Board plan to communicate its strategy for navigating this period of uncertainty and restoring investor and public confidence in Tesla’s leadership?
Tesla is going to release its Q1 2025 financial results today, hold its earnings conference call, and have a “live company update.’ Maybe some of these questions will be answered.
Here’s the letter in full:
2025-04-17 Letter to Tesla Board Chair
April 17, 2025
Robyn Denholm
Chair of the Board
Tesla, Inc.
1 Tesla Road
Austin, TX 78725
Dear Chair Denholm,
We are entrusted with promoting the long-term economic health and financial stability of our states and the people we serve. Tesla, Inc. is not just one of the world’s most valuable companies—it is a major player in the clean energy economy and a leading force in emerging technologies such as robotics and autonomous driving. The company’s success or setbacks have significant implications for workers, regional industries, and innovation ecosystems in our states.
We are increasingly concerned that Tesla’s recent performance signals deeper governance and leadership challenges that, if left unaddressed, could have serious consequences for the company and its stakeholders. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Tesla’s stock declined by 36%. The company missed delivery targets, recalled a substantial number of vehicles, and experienced a surge in trade-ins for competing brands. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk continues to divide his attention across multiple companies and a high-profile advisory role within the federal government. These external commitments raise serious questions about whether Tesla’s leadership is fully engaged in addressing the company’s core challenges.
We regularly interact with stakeholders across our states, including institutional investors, industry leaders, workers, and small businesses. We are hearing increasing concern about Tesla’s direction, not only from financial professionals but from those who have looked to Tesla as a leader in clean energy innovation and American industrial renewal. If Tesla falters, the effects won’t be confined to shareholders—they will ripple through regional economies, workforce pipelines, and public confidence in the energy transition.
At a moment when American industrial leadership is facing stiff global competition, it is essential that companies like Tesla are governed with focus, discipline, and clarity of mission. The Board’s role is especially critical now—to provide strong oversight, uphold fiduciary standards, and ensure that the company’s leadership is aligned with the long-term best interests of the company. Public officials like us do not take the step of raising these concerns lightly except when the obvious risks demand it.
We believe the Tesla Board has a responsibility to act decisively to ensure the company returns to a stable and focused trajectory.
We respectfully request the Board provide clarity on the following:
- How is the Board ensuring that Mr. Musk and Tesla’s leadership team are devoting adequate time and focus to resolving recent performance issues and guiding the company’s future direction?
- In light of the company’s underperformance, how is the Board evaluating whether executive compensation remains aligned with shareholder value and corporate accountability?
- How does the Board plan to communicate its strategy for navigating this period of uncertainty and restoring investor and public confidence in Tesla’s leadership?
Finally, we strongly believe Tesla’s Board would benefit from engaging with public sector stakeholders who share an interest in the company’s long-term value and societal impact. We welcome the opportunity to speak further about these concerns and discuss how the Board can take swift and transparent action to restore investor confidence and public trust in Tesla’s leadership and the company’s future.
We welcome a response and the opportunity for continued dialogue.
Signed,
Mike Pellicciotti, Washington State Treasurer
Deborah B. Goldberg, Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver-General
Michael W. Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer
Erick Russell, Connecticut Treasurer
Laura M. Montoya, New Mexico State Treasurer
David L. Young, Colorado State Treasurer
Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer
Malia M. Cohen, California State Controller
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is a $700 billion publicly traded company that is run like a family business by Musk, who owns just 13% of the float.
The board, which was so handsomely rewarded that it had to return almost $1 billion worth of compensation as part of a shareholder lawsuit, is letting Musk do whatever he wants without any objection.
It’s clear that they have a quid pro quo with Musk, whereby they receive compensation at a rate several times higher than any other similarly sized company in exchange for allowing Musk to run Tesla as if it were his private company.
While I am glad they sent this letter, I doubt that a group of state treasurers will convince Tesla’s board to do anything.
At this point, they are either completely fine with Musk destroying Tesla or they believe his claims about self-driving technology.
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Chevron is not seeing signs that the U.S. is close to a recession even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on expectations for oil demand, CEO Mike Wirth said Tuesday.
“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “There are signs that growth may be slowing and we have to always be prepared for that.”
The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its growth outlook for the U.S. this year to 1.8%, down from 2.7% previously.
The oil market is expecting reduced demand as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ increase production faster than expected, Wirth said. Chevron isn’t changing its capital spending plans in response to drop in prices, the CEO said.
U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 11% since Trump announced his tariffs on April 2. West Texas Intermediate was last up about 72 cents at $63.80 per barrel. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have cut their demand outlooks for this year.
Wirth said U.S. onshore oil production in patches like the Permian Basin is likely to pull back if prices hit $60 per barrel. Offshore production likely won’t be affected, he said.
“That’s an area where if we were to be at a $60 price or even lower you’re likely to see activity pull back in this sector and you’ll see the production response over a few months,” Wirth said. “That’s what we should watch, not so much the deep water activity.”
Chevron is not expecting a major direct impact on its business from Trump’s tariffs as energy has largely been exempt from the levies, Wirth said.
“The effects that we feel are likely to be more the macroeconomic effects as they flow through the economy,” Wirth said. “The bigger issues would be what would it mean for growth, and global trade and how does that evolve.”
Executives at oil and gas companies were scathing in their criticism of Trump’s tariffs in an anonymous March survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warning that steel tariffs were raising their costs and low prices could impact their activity.
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Little is known about super-secretive EV startup Slate, but the fledgling brand is rumored to be backed by Jeff Bezos and determined to shake up the existing electric order with an affordable lineup of compact SUVs and pickups with that golden $25,000 price tag.
Now, at least, we know what it’s gonna look like. The battle of the billionaires is on!
Redditor jonjopop over at the spotted subreddit spotted what looks like an early prototype of an unbranded SUV with bizarre “CryShare” wrap. CryShare, as a concept, seems to combine the functionality of a ride sharing app like Uber or Lyft with the familiar (to parent, anyway) idea that small babies will often sleep better in a moving car than in their own cribs … but that’s not what’s important here.
Instead, focus on the vehicle itself – parked on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles without explanation or fanfare, this is our best look yet at the kind of vehicle(s) Slate is likely to reveal in the coming days.
Stumbled upon the Bezosmobile [Slate Automotive…idk?] being revealed with an absolutely bizarre marketing campaign
byu/jonjopop inspotted
Other local automotive journalists caught wind of the public unveiling, too – and our friends at The Autopian (Hi, Matt!) sent their own David Tracy out on the streets of LA to check it out. Tracy took the following video and posted it to Instagram.
The Slate breaking cover and causing buzz just ahead of what’s sure to be a painful Q1 earnings call for Tesla is a masterstroke of marketing – especially as doubts surrounding the viability of a “less expensive” Tesla Model Y or Model 3 continue to mount amid the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs and declining sales of the brand’s more profitable models both at home and abroad.
As with so much involving Slate, however, there is nothing here written in stone – or even cast in cheese. Nothing has been announced, nothing is promised, and for all we know this might have more to do with the affordable Rivian brand launch, a new BYD, or be a viral marketing bit from some local Art Center design student in (relatively) nearby Pasadena. In fact, about the only thing I think we can say about Bezos (?) new Slate project with confidence today is this: Elon could probably use that drink.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Reddit, The Autopian.
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