Tesla owners in Chicago recently faced serious problems leaving their vehicles unable to fully charge in freezing temperatures, highlighting the fact that cold weather is a major Achilles heel for electric vehicles (EVs).
CBS News report Electric vehicles, including popular models such as Tesla's EV lineup, have experienced significant performance declines in this year's cold weather conditions. The issue recently gained attention after Tesla owners in Chicago noticed that it took significantly longer to charge their vehicles (if they could charge at all), and some Tesla charging stations were reported to be not working properly. it was done. These incidents raise questions about the reliability of EVs in extreme weather conditions, especially given their growing popularity in part due to incentives such as his $7,500 federal tax credit. The cause of these ongoing cold-weather issues lies in the battery system at the heart of every EV.
Dead Teslas pile up in Chicago's frigid temperatures (Fox 32 Chicago/YouTube)
The central issue lies in the fact that EVs are inherently less efficient in cold weather. Studies show that EVs lose up to 30% efficiency on average, which can have a significant impact on range. For example, an EV with a range of 200 to 215 miles may only be able to reach 150 to 175 miles in cold climates. Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of battery research company Recurrent, said EVs “certainly lose some of their range in extremely cold climates.” This reduction in efficiency is due to chemical and physical reactions within an EV's battery, which require more time in colder climates, resulting in less power available to the vehicle.
“If you go skiing with your iPhone, the battery will drain faster, and the battery that would normally last all day may run out in the middle of the day,” Case says.
To get an idea of what this limited range is really like, Breitbart News reported in January 2023 that the brothers had to stop six times in one day to charge their Tesla. Let's consider the case of .
“We ended up having to stop every hour to hour and a half to charge for an hour, hour and a half, two hours,” Xavier told the magazine.
“So over and above the lost time, we got to the point where the cost to recharge was $25 to $30. In just one day, we had to stop six times to charge at that cost. I did,” he added.
When the brothers called Hertz to complain about the problems they were experiencing, a representative told them that all the calls that day had been complaints to Tesla.
In a statement to Insider, Hertz acknowledged that the cold weather may be a factor in the battery draining faster than usual.
Another issue is the heating system used in EVs. Most rely on auxiliary heaters, often resistance heaters, which become less efficient at extremely low temperatures. Newer EV models may have heat pumps, which are more effective in such situations. Additionally, most EV batteries are designed to charge more slowly when the temperature drops, so it may take longer to charge your EV in cold weather. This is a protective measure to maintain the health of the battery, but it reduces the vehicle's range because the battery must use energy to heat itself before it can be charged efficiently.
In Recurrent's case, cold weather reduces range on individual trips but does not negatively impact overall battery life. However, even in optimal conditions, some EVs have been found to fall short of their claimed range by 50 miles, and some research suggests that EVs are generally less reliable than gasoline-powered vehicles. It has been.
To add insult to injury, some Tesla owners find it impossible to open their car doors in frigid temperatures or icy conditions due to Elon Musk's unique door handle design. There are some too. As Breitbart News previously reported:
of daily mailreport During severe winter storms in Canada and the United States, many Tesla owners reported that their door handles froze and made it impossible to access their vehicles. Ontario meteorologist Rachel Modestino experienced this problem firsthand on Dec. 23 when temperatures hit a low of 5 degrees Fahrenheit and her car door latch stopped working.
Modestino's situation received a lot of attention on social media, with a video she posted of her struggle with a frozen door handle receiving more than 10.1 million views on Twitter. In a tweet accompanying the video, Modestino quipped, “I bet you didn't think of ice in Tesla's design.” The video shows the Tesla partially covered in ice, highlighting the severity of the winter storm.
