It turns out that if you know what you are doing, then a Tesla will fast charge without issue even at negative 31 degrees. What’s the trick to getting it to charge in extreme cold?
The vehicle featured in the video here is a 2022 Tesla Model Y AWD Long Range version and it’s being driven in Alberta, Canada. The temperature is around -31 Fahrenheit, though the car’s display does show it to be even colder at one point during the video.
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A few simple tips will ensure that your cold charging will be a success.
Charging a Tesla in extreme cold should not be an issue if you follow some tips and plan ahead. This Model Y charged without an issue in temps well below any we’d like to be in.
We’re featuring this video to show a counterpoint to what recently happened in Chicago during an extreme cold spell. In Chicago, countless electric cars were unable to charge due to the extreme cold, but there were numerous reasons for the failed charging, including lack of preconditioning, lack of knowledge of EVs, dead cold rideshare EV batteries, not plugging in for long enough to initiate a charge and so on.
However, this Model Y owner in Canada who rarely uses public chargers shows us how to do it right, even in temps below what was recorded in Chicago. The key is to adequately precondition. The Model Y owner starts the preconditioning process immediately as he heads to a Supercharger. Preconditioning attempts to warm the battery enough so that it can accept a charge. It does consumer energy though, so you have to make sure you have enough juice in the battery to use this function and still arrive at the charger with some battery capacity in reserve.
When he arrived at the Supercharger, the battery was warm enough to accept over 100 kilowatts of juice, which is more than enough to charge rather quickly. Wanting to test out other chargers, the owner unplugged his Model Y and headed to a nearby FLO charging station. Less than a minute after plugging in and initiating the charge, the Tesla began to take on electrons at a rate equivalent to that of the charger’s rating. A third charger was sought and that too charged the Tesla without a problem.
So the moral of the story here is that if you know how to properly use your EV, then charging in the bitter cold should not be much of a problem. Just be sure to plan for reduced range and possibly longer charging times.