Tesla Update 2026.38.5.1 Reportedly Breaks Third-Party V2L Adapters

Owners who power a cooler, tools or a house from a Tesla with a third-party vehicle-to-load adapter should think twice before installing software update 2026.38.5.1 or later, according to reports on the Tesla Motors Club forum picked up on October 29. Adapters such as Elejoy’s plug into the car’s CCS fast-charging port and start what the car sees as a DC charging session, then reverse the flow to pull power out of the battery. After the update, owners report the car throws a BMS_a076_SW_Dch_While_Charging fault and shuts the session down.

The failure is fast. One Model 3 owner who had used an adapter almost daily for about a year and a half said a session at about 3 kW now ends after roughly three minutes. Another owner said sessions cut out after 15 to 20 minutes no matter the load. One owner said Elejoy sent test firmware, but it did not fix the problem. Forum members theorize the car now checks that energy is really flowing into the battery during a charging session — but that is their theory, not a Tesla explanation. Tesla has not commented, and it is not clear whether the change was deliberate.

The timing is awkward, and it matters more in Canada. Tesla just announced its own Powershare outlet feature for new cars, but only for the United States and Mexico, leaving Canadian owners who relied on third-party adapters with fewer options. Owners in the forum thread suggest holding off on 2026.38.5.1 or later if you rely on a third-party adapter. Keep the caveat in view: these are owner reports, not a Tesla statement, and individual cars may behave differently.