Has anyone else used their Lightning to power their home after Helene?

Just saw this interesting article. It’s about using electric vehicles to power homes after Hurricane Helene. Thought I’d share it here: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/hurricane-helene-electric-vehicle-power-outage/680106/

So, I always thought these trucks were just for show. Seems like they’re actually useful after all!

Chen said:
So, I always thought these trucks were just for show. Seems like they’re actually useful after all!

Are you serious? Using these to power homes? Sounds like asking for trouble (/J).

@Micah
There have been Tesla fires because of saltwater damage during the hurricane. It’s a real issue.

Asher said:
@Micah
There have been Tesla fires because of saltwater damage during the hurricane. It’s a real issue.

Yeah, I’ve read that too. Saltwater can mess with EVs even if they aren’t turned on. Any news about how the Lightnings are handling it?

@Emerson
Not really, most reports focus on Teslas. I haven’t seen anything about Lightnings catching fire though.

@Zeke
There’s been enough EV fires reported in the news after Helene, especially from the saltwater surge. People have been warned to tow their cars to the dealer if they’ve been submerged.

Asher said:
@Micah
There have been Tesla fires because of saltwater damage during the hurricane. It’s a real issue.

I feel like we’re blowing this way out of proportion. Gas cars catch fire all the time, but no one talks about that.

Asher said:
@Zeke
There’s been enough EV fires reported in the news after Helene, especially from the saltwater surge. People have been warned to tow their cars to the dealer if they’ve been submerged.

Yeah, but the media always hypes up the bad stuff about EVs. Meanwhile, we ignore the problems with gas cars. If you look at the numbers, the rate of fires in Teslas is still really low compared to how many are on the road.

Asher said:
@Zeke
I hear you, but when saltwater hits EVs, especially Teslas, it’s dangerous. I’ve seen it firsthand in my area after the storm surge.

I get it, but you’ve seen those videos of Teslas handling floods like nothing, right? The media makes it sound like it’s a constant problem when really it’s just in extreme cases.

@Zeke
Flooding with saltwater is way worse than fresh water, and that’s what people are dealing with here.

Asher said:
@Micah
There have been Tesla fires because of saltwater damage during the hurricane. It’s a real issue.

How many fires are we really talking about? A few?

@Asher
Are all these fires happening with Teslas? Or are other EVs involved too?

Perry said:
@Asher
Are all these fires happening with Teslas? Or are other EVs involved too?

Most of the reports are about Teslas, but I’d be cautious with any EV in saltwater.

Asher said:

Perry said:
@Asher
Are all these fires happening with Teslas? Or are other EVs involved too?

Most of the reports are about Teslas, but I’d be cautious with any EV in saltwater.

I wonder if any non-Tesla EVs have had the same problem. Would be good to know.

@Perry
It seems like Teslas are the most talked about, but I’d imagine other EVs aren’t immune to the saltwater risk.

Chen said:
So, I always thought these trucks were just for show. Seems like they’re actually useful after all!

What’s next? People using these trucks to haul stuff? That would be wild!

@Daryl
I actually pulled a tree stump with mine the other day. It was weird not hearing an engine rev, but it got the job done!

Chen said:
So, I always thought these trucks were just for show. Seems like they’re actually useful after all!

Here’s some advice: never tell your wife you were right about this.

Chen said:
So, I always thought these trucks were just for show. Seems like they’re actually useful after all!

This is me right now!