Biden made the comments while speaking at the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge event on Wednesday.
The clip has so far been viewed more than 400,000 times since being posted by the Post Millennial Twitter page.
“By the way, in your home, you know, the batteries that we have now—they’re getting more and more sophisticated,” Biden said during his speech.
“Guess what? You can plug your car into the house and make it light up,” he said. Biden then received laughter from the guests.
He continued: “You think I’m joking? It’s a little simplistic, but you literally you can, literally you can.
“Oh this summer. It really is kind of exciting.” Biden then received a round of applause.
One of Biden’s critics responded on social media by highlighting why this may not be a great idea for some Tesla car owners, however.
According to an Electrek report, posted by the Twitter user, using your Tesla to power your home immediately voids the warranty.
One enthusiastic Tesla owner in 2021 bragged in the Tesla Owners Club Portland Facebook group how the car was being used to power their home.
“So if you are out of power from the storm you can power parts of your home from your car. here I’m using a 2,000 watt inverter from Harbour Freight for $170. Connect to your battery, the shorter the wires the better,” The Tesla owner wrote.
“Then I have an extension chord to my gas furnace to power the blower and furnace computer. That alone draws about 1,100 watts. Then I still have enough for my refrigerator and a few lights.”
Twitter users remarked that it isn’t a good idea to brag about it on social media as the car’s warranty then becomes void. In Tesla’s warranty policy one bullet point clearly states the warranty limitations include using the vehicle as a stationary power source.
Other social media users were critical of the president for his comments due to the overall costs of electric cars and the rarity of the scenarios like the one Biden described.
However, as electric cars improve, Biden’s claim may become a reality. As Newsweek has previously reported, the new Ford F-150 Lightning, when used with the proper equipment, can potentially power a home for 10 days.
Biden has previously helped push the importance of the electric car industry to ensure that the U.S. is less reliant on fossil fuels.
He has also condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the rise in gas prices following his invasion of Ukraine.
“Let’s lower the price of electric vehicles so we never have to pay at the pump in the first place,” Biden said, adding that the country should develop other clean energies so that “we’re never again forced to pay the price of a menacing dictator halfway around the world,” Biden said in June.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
Update 11/03/2022, 2.25 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information about electric cars’ capability to power homes.
