Chicago’s sub-zero temperatures have left some Tesla owners in a spot of bother.
Apparently, Tesla were lined up early morning at a Tesla Supercharger station in Evergreen Park.
The reason? The vehicles’ battery dies in the freezing temperatures, leaving the EVs sitting askew and immobile in the parking lot.
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It’s fair to say, these Tesla drivers learned the hard way about how cold weather affects battery life.
To make matters worse, though, drivers claim some of the charging stations weren’t working, and those that were working took a lot longer than usual to charge.
“I’ve been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car,” said Tesla owner, Brandon Welbourne.
“A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours.”
Welbourne added that he saw at least ten cars towed.
If you’re a Tesla owner, you might want to take heed of the EV maker’s advice.
Tesla advised owners to keep the charge level above 20 percent during bitter cold weather.
What’s more, the company’s support website says it’s normal to see energy consumption increase because Teslas use more energy to heat the battery and cabin.
“We have made several updates to improve your driving experience in freezing temperatures, including better overall thermal performance, quicker Supercharging, and improved cabin conditioning,” the company said.
One owner who knows only too well how cold weather can affect battery life is Dennis Wang.
The YouTuber, recently documented a 1,340-mile cross-country road trip in the much-hyped EV pickup.
Wang and his friend took a Foundation Series version of the truck on a 27-hour road trip from Austin, Texas to Joshua Tree National Park in California.
And while Wang, who runs DennisCW, a YouTube channel focusing on Tesla, put the Cybertruck through its paces and enjoyed the ride, he reportedly ran into some issues along the way.
“It’s the most comfortable Tesla that I’ve owned, but in terms of efficiency, it was definitely lacking in range, and we had to stop a lot along the way,” Wang said.
Despite having an estimated range of 515km (320 miles) on its all-wheel drive option, Wang claims, at times, it felt as if that range was cut in half.
Apparently, the pair had to stop 12 times during the 1,340-mile trip, which equates to just over 110 miles between charges, and they had to stop every one to two hours to recharge.
The pair took it in turns to drive and the stops turned what would’ve been a 20-hour road trip into a 27-hour one.
Wang believes the inefficiencies in range are due to cooler temperatures in Texas, as well has his tendency to speed.
He did however say that he’d seen improved range when driving in California, presumably due to the state’s more temperate climate.
Wang isn’t the first to point out some potential issues with the Cybertruck’s estimated range.
