Ford’s $30K Fathom EV Can Double as a Home Power Generator

• The 2028 Ford Fathom electric truck will be able to power a home thanks to bidirectional charging capabilities.
• An add-on home power setup allows the Fathom to charge when electricity is less expensive, sending power from the truck’s battery to a home when electricity is more expensive.
• Ford’s power supply system is expected to cost around $2255, meaning the full package, with the Fathom included, could start as low as $32,200.

Ford’s upcoming sub-$30,000 Fathom will be able to power a home, among its other skills as an affordable electric truck. The Fathom will feature an integrated power inverter that can power a home when electricity prices are high or during a power outage, provided it’s paired with the necessary hardware.

While bidirectional power isn’t new to the EV world, the Fathom will be one of the least expensive vehicles on the market to have the capability, and Ford says it’s making the rest of the parts needed to power a home more affordable than competitors.

Ford

GM, for example, offers bidirectional charging on the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt. But while the EV starts at an attractive $28,995, unlocking bidirectional charging to send power to a home requires an extra conversion kit that typically costs about $7000. Tesla’s home charging setup is a bit less expensive, but the properly equipped vehicles start at least $8000 more than the Fathom’s opening price.

Ford has also dabbled in bidirectional charging before. The F-150 Lightning, which was discontinued after the 2025 model year, offered the functionality, but it required extra hardware that rang up to about $5310.

Illustration by Avarvarii|Car and Driver

The new Fathom will have an integrated power inverter to allow for a two-way energy flow directly from the vehicle. It’ll still require some additional hardware to power a home, but Ford expects the setup to cost significantly less. The company’s Home Power Station will help the Fathom charge when electricity costs less, but it can also pull energy from the truck to power a home when electricity prices are high. The power station will require an active subscription plan and cost half as much as Ford’s first-generation bidirectional charger.

To use the Fathom’s power during an outage, customers will need the power station and a Home Backup Power Panel, which Ford says will cost at least 60 percent less than the first-gen version. And assuming those figures remain at their current rates when the Fathom officially goes on sale, it looks like a full home power setup could cost as low as $2255. That puts the whole package, with the Fathom included, starting at around $32,200. Of course, that’s before installation and subscription fees, which haven’t yet been announced, but it’ll likely still land below the final costs of most bidirectional EVs on the market today.

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Alayna Wilkening grew up reading motorsport magazines and following her grandpa around his Chevrolet dealership’s showroom floor. In true Hoosier fashion, her first car was a hot pink custom cardboard “Fiero-vette” for her kindergarten Kindy 500 race. She now autocrosses a 1994 Miata with her dad, which she learned to drive the night before her first event. Alayna went to Indiana University and graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in graphic design. As a testament to her great taste in cars, her first real one was a metallic orange 2007 Chevy HHR, which she lovingly called “The Dumptruck.”  

Source: www.caranddriver.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.