There’s a new Kickstarter campaign aimed at Tesla owners, and this one adds a feature many owners have long hoped for — Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) support.
V2L is a system where an EV can supply power to external devices, appliances, or even homes by allowing the energy stored in its battery to flow out through outlets or adapters. Essentially, the EV acts as a power source for devices or the home.
While Tesla only recently added support for V2L with the Cybertruck, most of their vehicles don’t support the new feature. This appears to include the newly designed Model Y. And that’s where this new device comes in.
The VortiPower PowerShare VP20 provides the ability to use your Tesla’s battery as a portable power station - which means you can run other devices right off it.
Tesla doesn’t officially support this capacity, but it is part of the NACS and CCS standards, which means it is technically possible for every Tesla vehicle, not just the Cybertruck. The Vortipower VP20 serves to bridge that technical gap, providing the ability to provide power locally to the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y.
VortiPower is a new company that is kickstarting support for its vehicle-to-load Tesla adapter and aiming to provide additional adapters with more functionality—including for other CCS vehicles—in the future.
Power Station
You can use this V2L Power Station to power your devices that would normally run off of 120V, 12A wall sockets, which means you’ll be able to run corded power tools, electric stovetops, camping equipment, lights, or just about anything your heart desires.
The VortiPower has two 120V outlets, providing up to 3,500W - that’s 120V at 15A x 2 - across its outlets. While it’s not enough to power a home, it could provide you with much-needed power in desperate situations.
The VP20 can also output 240V from one of its ports - enabling the use of high-power devices that are 240V capable.
While it can’t fully replace a standalone generator, the VP20 does allow you to do some normal tasks that you wouldn’t be able to accomplish without a power source, all while using your Tesla’s massive battery. For reference, a typical portable generator provides about 4,000 to 10,000+ watts of power. However, depending on your needs, it could be a good alternative.
Power Usage
One of the best parts is that EVs include massive batteries. This device will have a fairly minimal hit to your battery per hour - just 3.5kWh. The Model Y Long Range’s battery is 75kWh, so you could run two devices at peak power loads for 10 hours and only use half your vehicle’s battery. Realistically - you’d use this for an hour or two at a time, which means the actual range hit is fairly small.
Pricing / Buy
VortiPower is offering its VP20 at $749 USD as part of its Early Bird Special - with about 130 units left at that price. The price after that will be $899 USD, and VortiPower expects to sell the product regularly after the Kickstarter at $1,700 USD.
They’re also offering some combo packs if you’re interested in multiple devices - and you can check out their pricing on their Kickstarter page. Shipping is included if you’re in the continental United States, but $49 USD anywhere else in the globe.
All the uses of the VP20
Not a Tesla App
Specs & Details
The VP20 has an overage output voltage of 110V to 220V - switchable from 120V to 240V modes, with a peak output power of 3,500W. Overall, it's a moderately sized package, coming in at 5x13x9 inches, with a total weight of 15 pounds. You could fit this in the sub-frunk of any Tesla, with its nearly 6-foot-long cable wrapped comfortably around it.
The Spec Sheet.
Not a Tesla App
The VP20 has passed the UL458 certification, which means it passes the standards for power conversion equipment for portable applications and recreational vehicles. That means that VortiPower has put some real effort into getting its product vetted and approved, which means it should be safe, stable, and reliable.
V2V Charging
You can also use the Vortishare for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging. While it would be fairly slow even at 120V/30A - it’d still be helpful in an emergency. It could serve to get a vehicle that’s low or out of battery enough additional charge to limp its way home or to a Supercharger.
Global Support
VortiPower offers both NACS and CCS2 headers. They send out the correct version based on your order region, so you won’t have to worry about getting the correct port for those in Europe or North America. For now, VortiPower is not offering a model for the Chinese market - but they could in the future if their Kickstarter goes well.
Delivery & Kickstarter
VortiPower expects to start production of its units at the end of February, with its first batch shipping in early-to-mid April of this year.
As a reminder, this is a Kickstarter - so there isn’t a guarantee that you’ll receive a product once you pay them - but VortiPower has already met and achieved their original goal over 10x over, and has kept in continual contact with their backers over the last several months. That said, they seem to have a product that has grabbed a lot of interest.
Tesla’s Stance on V2L
Tesla doesn’t have a positive stance on V2L projects and activities like this - at least unofficial ones that aren’t Tesla’s official PowerShare feature - which is still locked to the Cybertruck. If you’re interested in getting portable battery power outside of your Tesla, you’d be looking at buying a portable battery bank instead - and charging that at home, or using your Tesla’s 120V socket, if it has one.
We’re not sure whether Tesla will be pointing to the use of V2L devices like the VP20 in warranty claims - the VP20 itself uses a negligible amount of power compared to regular driving - and VortiPower claims that they’re working within Tesla’s established parameters to draw power from the High Voltage battery without any hi-jinks or unauthorized modifications.
VortiPower is also offering OTA updates to the device itself via an app - to ensure that it remains compatible with future Tesla Software updates. You can find out more information on their Kickstarter page.
If you purchase something through a link in this article, we may receive a small commission that goes toward supporting the site.
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.
As anticipation builds for Tesla’s Robotaxi network debut in Austin, potentially just a few short weeks away, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is turning its official eye onto Tesla. The ask? How will Tesla’s FSD handle the unpredictable realities of challenging weather?
The NHTSA Request
The NHTSA has sent a formal letter to Tesla, which was made public on May 12th, requesting detailed information about Tesla’s Robotaxi service. The NHTSA inquiry centers specifically on the safety and performance of FSD when faced with reduced visibility conditions like rain, fog, and sun glare. The request is tied to an ongoing NHTSA investigation, which was initiated in October 2023, examining Tesla’s FSD and Autopilot suite following incidents in poor visibility.
Tesla’s executives, including Elon Musk, have previously stated that the company is full steam ahead to launch Robotaxi in Austin this June. However, NHTSA’s pointed questions come even as Tesla has recently discussed its plans to work on region-specific and weather-specific FSD training.
Tesla’s executive leadership acknowledged the need to adapt the system to diverse environmental and weather conditions. Now, regulators want specifics on how Tesla intends to address environmental conditions and how that translates to operational safety for the fleet.
Request Breakdown
NHTSA’s letter outlines a need for detailed information from Tesla before the service launches and covers several key areas. We’ve broken this down into various sections below:
Deployment Scale
NHTSA is looking for the exact number of vehicles and models that will be part of the initial Austin fleet, and what the projected service availability times would be for said fleet. Tesla has previously said it’d launch with 10-20 Model Ys, but looks like NHTSA is looking for additional details.
Oversight
In terms of oversight, NHTSA is looking to confirm whether the Robotaxis will operate under real-time supervision of Tesla’s employees, either remotely or in-vehicle.
This is a question on our minds as well. A recent app update suggested that Tesla could have a driver in the vehicle, but it wasn’t clear whether this was referring to Tesla’s own fleet or customer-owned vehicles. The only thing we have heard officially from Tesla is that Tesla “may” use remote support, but that they were still looking into it.
Adverse Weather Capabilities
This is the meat and potatoes of the request - how will Tesla ensure safety during sun glare, fog, heavy rain, snow, or dust? What specific protocols are triggered if poor visibility is encountered mid-trip? Will the vehicle pull over or call home and cancel rides?
Sensor Technology
Surprisingly, NHTSA is looking for details regarding the vehicle the Robotaxi sensor suites and how Tesla intends to use those sensors to ensure safe operation under varied conditions. NHTSA has had previous submissions from Tesla in regard to its sensor suite and how it uses the technology, so it feels odd that they are requesting another batch - but this could be related to the use of the next generation of FSD (Unsupervised).
Compliance
Does Tesla’s FSD system adhere, either fully or partially, to established industry standards for autonomous driving? This likely refers to the NHTSA Automated Vehicles for Safety guidebook, which lays out the “L0 to L5” driver assistance vs automation system.
Future Expansion
Finally, NHTSA is looking for the timeline for enabling Robotaxi functionality on vehicles not directly owned or controlled by Tesla. Tesla has already come out and said that customer-owned vehicles wouldn’t be allowed on the robotaxi network until 2026, but obviously, NHTSA wants to hear directly from Tesla and likely has more specific questions covering a wide variety of potential issues.
These questions will likely have to be answered with considerable amounts of data and justification for the NHTSA. Once all that is done, Tesla will be in a better position to receive regulatory approval at a larger scale than just within the city of Austin or the state of Texa with the NHTSA’s backing.
Successfully addressing this letter will be the key for Unsupervised FSD moving forward, but Tesla hasn’t issued a public response to the agency’s letter, and likely won’t in a public manner. So we’ll have to wait and see how the launch of the Robotaxi network pans out next month.
After an 84-day wait since the last FSD update, Tesla has finally begun rolling out a new version of FSD V13 to its AI4-equipped vehicles. This new release, V13.2.9, is rolling out to all vehicles, including the Cybertruck.
Unfortunately, since it’s a minor point release (from V13.2.8), the release notes are the same, and Tesla hasn’t included a change log or changed what’s coming in the future.
Software Update 2025.14.6
The FSD update is rolling out with Tesla software update 2025.14.6. Interestingly, update 2025.14.6 is seeing a wider distribution and is also being made available to vehicles without FSD and outside North America. For those vehicles, this update just includes bug fixes.
TCU Fix
There’s one fix in particular that’s expected to be included in this update, according to a message from Tesla Service. In earlier 2025.14 updates, there was a bug in some vehicles that prevented some vehicles from falling asleep properly due to a Telematics Control Unit (TCU) issue. This bug caused additional battery drain since some of the vehicle’s systems remained on.
Tesla Service said they planned to include a bug fix in update 2025.14.6, but it hasn’t been confirmed whether the fix actually made it out in this release.
Early Access Users and More
FSD v13.2.9 was first rolled out to Tesla’s standard Early Access group, including well-known community members and content creators. It has also reached participants in the newer, Texas-based Early Access Program, suggesting that the update is relatively stable and may serve as a foundation for upcoming FSD releases.
Tesla could be intending to use the Texas Early Access Program to test various features, perhaps related to the upcoming Robotaxi network launch in Austin. While this is plausible, it is merely speculation, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on that group to see what exactly Tesla does.
HW3 Users
While Tesla has recently been including FSD updates for HW3 and HW4 in the same release, this update does not include any changes for HW3 users. HW3 vehicles that are receiving this update are staying on FSD V12.6.4, which means that whichever fixes this update includes they’re specific to FSD V13 or HW4.
Point Release - Not Much New
Being a point release, V13.2.9 isn’t expected to introduce any major new capabilities. Tesla hasn’t provided specific release notes detailing changes from V13.2.8.
Hopefully, Tesla has taken into account recent user feedback on V13.2.8 about lane centering and lane selection, and this update addresses some of those issues. However, early feedback is that those issues are still present.
There is always potential for a more substantial update in the near future, so keep your fingers crossed, but after such a long wait, we expected more to be included. It seems like Tesla may have felt the need to address a bug in this release instead of waiting for the next major release, which is expected to either be FSD V13.3 or FSD V14.
The fact that Software Update 2025.14.6 is going out wider than the Early Access audience suggests that Tesla is confident in this release and that it likely only includes very minor changes. We expect this update to continue going out over the coming days.
![Tesla Updates Lane Departure Avoidance, Likely Now Using FSD Stack [Video]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/tesla-screen/lane-departure-warning.webp/bac626b9acadf88ee44775c5ee187c06/lane-departure-warning.jpg)
_300w.png)
![Exclusive: A Look Inside the Tesla Diner [PHOTOS]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/2025/diner-seats.jpg/b0b4cb51b80d1f29298c9ca6b9ad2ae8/diner-seats.jpg)
