CT vs Cold Weather States

[Ramojarocho]

HI Everyone,
Does anybody here has any experience driving a Tesla in cold climates That would like to share?
Like battery range, handling, autopilot reliability during snow etc.

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[Crissa]

Teslas have heated battery packs, so don't lose as much range in the cold as other EVs.

-Crissa

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

The folks in Canada and Europe have always provided valuable experience and insights into Tesla performance in winter. I am sure they will chime in.

 

[Vrakpant]

I suggest you check out TeslaBjørn's youtube channel.
here is one of his winter tests:

 

[5UBV3T]

I've seen in many youtube reviews that depending on how much you personally need heat (cabin temperature) and how cold it is outside you can expect at least a 20% decrease in range. I am sure the CT will have the heatpump so that will improve efficiency as far as maintaining cabin temperature during cold conditions.

Unfortunately physics dictates that battery range suffers in cold temperatures. At least with current battery technology. Crissa is right that Teslas have the ability to maintain favorable temperatures in their battery packs but unfortunately the heater warming up the battery packs puts an additional drain on the battery packs they're keeping warm.

I think the only time it would noticeably affect you is if you were making a long road trip (probably have to hit more super chargers than to cover the same distance in the summer). I don't think the average commute would be greatly affected. The video by Bjorn above is great, but that is EXTREMELY cold and I believe it was before Tesla developed a heater for it's radar system for autopilot.

That being said, I am not a current Tesla owner. I've just done a lot of research because I preordered the CT and I live in New England!

 

[Garden_Aum]

I've seen in many youtube reviews that depending on how much you personally need heat (cabin temperature) and how cold it is outside you can expect at least a 20% decrease in range. I am sure the CT will have the heatpump so that will improve efficiency as far as maintaining cabin temperature during cold conditions.

Unfortunately physics dictates that battery range suffers in cold temperatures. At least with current battery technology. Crissa is right that Teslas have the ability to maintain favorable temperatures in their battery packs but unfortunately the heater warming up the battery packs puts an additional drain on the battery packs they're keeping warm.

I think the only time it would noticeably affect you is if you were making a long road trip (probably have to hit more super chargers than to cover the same distance in the summer). I don't think the average commute would be greatly affected. The video by Bjorn above is great, but that is EXTREMELY cold and I believe it was before Tesla developed a heater for it's radar system for autopilot.

That being said, I am not a current Tesla owner. I've just done a lot of research because I preordered the CT and I live in New England!

I agree that physics dictates range, that is why I am interested in what they will present on battery day. I really hope that the CyberTrucks will have the latest in battery technology. We will all have to be zen-like in our wait.

 

[5UBV3T]

I agree that physics dictates range, that is why I am interested in what they will present on battery day. I really hope that the CyberTrucks will have the latest in battery technology. We will all have to be zen-like in our wait.

This video came out several hours ago basically saying that the battery technology in the CT will have to be considerably more energy dense / economical to meet the currently advertised prices. I tend to agree that the CT will definitely benefit from whatever is announced on Battery Day otherwise the currently advertised prices do not make sense unless manufacturing the CT is significantly cheaper (which is possible based on Sandy Munroe's assessment) than the current models available.

YouTube: Tailosive EV on CT and Battery Day

 

[Michael Mehta]

It’s important to remember that ICE vehicles including diesel lose substantial range in cold climates. I have driven both ICE and electric in -40C conditions for years and I’ll take an electric any day.

 

[Tugboat]

I live in Florida but I drove my Model 3 to Minneapolis in January with sub-zero F temps. I would say my range was reduced between 1/3 and 1/2 when the weather was below zero. It started to drop off below 40 noticeably and a lot in the teens. I kept the cabin temp at 76. I ran the seat heaters in 2 seats. That said, my road trip from South Florida to Minneapolis and back was completely doable.

i was a little nervous when the temp dropped from 34 to 10 going through Illinois because I did not know my range would drop as much as it did. You generally use past performance to predict range, but when you are driving into massively dropping temps the algorithm is not so helpful. South was easy.

 

[jerhenderson]

HI Everyone,
Does anybody here has any experience driving a Tesla in cold climates That would like to share?
Like battery range, handling, autopilot reliability during snow etc.

no complaints out of Norway.....

 

[alan auerbach]

HI Everyone,
Does anybody here has any experience driving a Tesla in cold climates That would like to share?
Like battery range, handling, autopilot reliability during snow etc.

Please correct if the following guesses are wrong.

Auto-driving (whatever the level or whatever it's called) responds to white lane-marker lines on the pavement, so a covering of snow would, as suggested, degrade this feature to near useless.

 

[VI Tesla]

Please correct if the following guesses are wrong.

Auto-driving (whatever the level or whatever it's called) responds to white lane-marker lines on the pavement, so a covering of snow would, as suggested, degrade this feature to near useless.

Correct, when white lines are covered self drive will not engage. Who knows what the future holds though.
To the posted question yes you take about a 20% hit on batteries in winter. Warming up batteries, cabin heat, window defrost, windshield wipers all take a chunk out. When it's really cold out we try to leave it plugged in overnight and set a departure time for morning. This keeps the batteries conditioned from house power and provides the morning thaw.

 

[azjohn]

The CT will have the 4680 cells. You can throw out the window the past experiences, battery behavior will be vastly different

 

[Crissa]

The CT will have the 4680 cells. You can throw out the window the past experiences, battery behavior will be vastly different

The new cell won't change autopilot or the effect of cold upon the lithium chemistry.

Teslas are the best EV in cold, though.

-Crissa

 

[azjohn]

The new cell won't change autopilot or the effect of cold upon the lithium chemistry.

Maybe not the chemistry, but I do think the tab less design will with the lower resistance will