Tesla Owners Left Stranded Globally as Cars Fail in Arctic Weather

Noted but there are also petrol and diesel cars that do not operate well in cold weather. In fact, there are numerous videos on YouTube of Diesel engines not being able to start in cold weather.

Seems like a bit of confirmation bias to hate electric cars.

Bummer.

Were they able to open the doors, R1?

teehee

R3 yes it happens to other cars.

Those Tesla door handles weren’t covered in ice, R5. Pouring cold water over them would not fix the problem.

A neighbor who was unable to charge his Tesla in subzero temperatures last week was additionally frustrated because he was advised not to keep his car in the garage for safety reasons. Speaking of which, a garaged Tesla caught fire overnight in St. Louis over Christmas. No one was hurt but the fire spread to the house.

[quote]Seems like a bit of confirmation bias to hate electric cars.

Teslas are not the only electric cars. So, no, attacking the poorly built Teslas is not attacking all electric cars.

Tesla released an update that allows you to open the doors via app in cases where the handle is frozen.

I love watching liberal Tesla bros skirm their way into defending an asshole billionaire and his overpriced wares.

I should’ve said, Pouring hot* water over them would not fix the problem.

Liberals do not like Musk, r10. Where have you been, Mars?

R12

They’ve been his largest customer base since the beginning. R12

Very interesting.

R14 until he bought Twitter and his reputation imploded.

They’re still his largest customer base, R16. You think these hillbilly MAGATs suddenly abandoned their pickup trucks and started buying Teslas? Without liberal money, Tesla wouldn’t exist.

[quote]A neighbor who was unable to charge his Tesla in subzero temperatures last week was additionally frustrated because he was advised not to keep his car in the garage for safety reasons

What is the issue with keeping it in the garage in low temperatures?

Because they tend to catch on fire while charging in garages, and they can burn your house down.

My Friend has a Model X. It has been to the shop no less than 23 times. Nothing to do with cold, the doors stopped working. He could not get in his car. The charger stopped working, he could not power his car. The car was almost 150 thousand dollars.

r17 without huge government subsidies Tesla would not exist.

R14 is either a moron or a troll spreading misinformation. As evidenced by Elon's Twitter army, Tesla "bros" are and always were libertarians and conservatives. The customer base for Tesla is not the same as "Tesla bros," nor are they particularly "liberal," most people buy cars for practical reasons, not political ones. Tesla's are wildly expensive for most people so their customer base is actually quite affluent, which is hardly a "liberal" trait.

[quote]You think these hillbilly MAGATs suddenly abandoned their pickup trucks and started buying Teslas?

Is that the entire world to you, "liberals" and "hillbilly MAGATs?" Everyone is either one or the other? God, you sound like a moron.

Ordinary working class liberals drive hybrids not Teslas.

Elon, you in danger girl!

[quote]Because they tend to catch on fire while charging in garages, and they can burn your house down.

Why the HELL is that the case? Wouldn't that be described as, umm, rather a fatal design flaw?

Ordinary working class liberals ride bikes or take public transit.

I swear some of you never leave your keyboards and interact with the real world. Everything you think you know is something you read online.

R27 not where I live. Over 100 in summer with maniacal drivers and a city not designed for bikes or walking. Terrible bus service. My town was designed for cars only.

Oh and lighten up R27. Working class liberals do drive hybrids.

Ride bikes? In Manhattan? Who the hell is riding a bike everywhere outside of some downtown city? We’re a cat nation for a reason. Most people need to drive.

Fuck off, R29. How awful for you that you live in such a shithole.

Car drivers get so offended when you mention that everyone doesn't need a car and you can actually have a great life without one. It's such a weird thing to get defensive about.

Super cold weather can fuck up most cars. Though if you can get the door open, you should be able to get most gas engines started. My family only had a one-stall garage growing up in Minnesota. In the winter we'd plug in the battery overnight on the car that sat in the driveway.

Yeah you can have a great life without a car.. in San Francisco. What about every fuckin body else, R32?

R16 hit the nail on the head.

There were those of us who have warned of Tesla's poor build quality and not-ready-for-prime-time actual manufacturing, and I was repeatedly shouted down by many here and elsewhere about the inevitability of Tesla's domination, Elmo's brilliance and the imminent collapse of the entire ICE automotive industry.

Electric cars are great and Tesla has successfully disrupted the industry, but will now be quashed by the people who have been making cars for a hundred years because the one thing we can all agree upon is that reliability is paramount.

R31 you need to take a chill pill and get that chip off your shoulder.

R32 I'm not offended. What a weird reaction to my statement. I'm just stating a fact. I live in a city not designed for walking or biking. Having a car is a must not a choice.

I feel this requires a Nelson Muntz gif but I can't remember how to post one.

The billionaire character in Glass Onion was based on Elon, right?

My house was built in 1924. I have a detached garage. I read somewhere that garages we detached in that era because early cars had a tendency to burst into flames.

Progress.

And, in other news water froze in temperatures below 32°F.

The reality is most technology has a temperature range in which it will operate. You'd actually have to be stupid to believe that an electric car would function well in arctic conditions, as things like rechargeable batteries do not work well in extreme temps.

R41 tell me about it.

Then why are they being forced on us by government mandate, R41?

Yes other vehicles struggle in the cold too, but many times it's due to the battery. Electric cars have big, big batteries. Electronics in general don't do well in the cold. That's why this push for EV isn't practical, at least not within the next decade if other major changes aren't made. 60% of our electric is generated from fossil fuels. There's states that had to ban the purchase of a new computer due to worries over it stressing the electrical grid -- but sure, the US is ready for everyone to charge a vehicle for 12 hrs a day.

Unfortunately, NYS set a goal of switching over to all EV by 2035. I'm not sure who will be able to afford it, how that'll cut fossil fuels if that's how the electric is generated, or if they'll do well in our chaotic weather. Add to it that NYS loves pouring salt everywhere, rusting out vehicles within the first year you have them. You'd think they'd start with idk -- updating infrastructures first? Lastly, it's a little more than aggravating when you live in a state with these goals, while the rest of the US changes nothing.

What about on the other end - extreme heat. I see them all over Phoenix when visiting my parents. Granted, Phoenix is perfectly tolerable and not "extreme" at least seven months of the year. But I see them all over when it's 115 degrees in the summer. I'd assume even if it compromises performance, it's not the same as extreme cold.

Will they stop making gas? I love vintage cars so that would really annoy me.

R30 meow.

[QUOTE] Will they stop making gas?

That’s the goal, R46. For now they want to stop the production of gasoline powered cars.

Just saw this and it kind of confirms it's not struggling the same way any vehicle can in cold -- it's dying multiple times in a day. In gas vehicles, it might struggle to get going initially, but it's usually fine once you get it going.

These siblings claimed their Tesla died 6 times in one day.

What's strange is the clash in self reports. Another guy says his Tesla did great for 14 hours in a traffic jam during the storm. However, it is a known fact that "Cold weather is known to reduce an electric car's battery range by about 20%, Consumer Reports said. Subfreezing temperatures slow down chemical reactions in battery cells, which requires the car to use more energy to maintain the battery's temperature, as well as heat the cabin."

I'm going to take a guess that it's like many other known issues with vehicles; where you either experience it with your car or not at all. There's been recalls, with plenty of people that never once dealt with that problem, but when there's enough reports, it can call into question a vehicle's overall performance.

Yep range can suck with the cold. Not just Teslas. Every EV.

R51 and that’s a problem right? Not all of us live in sunny CA. And when gas is no longer produced, the energy companies will be the new big oil. I mean they’re already charging me 65% more at the moment to heat my house.

r52 it is really only a problem in sub-zero places. Below I think 5c the cold can affect the chemical reaction in the battery. It just takes more energy to work so less range out of a full charge. Still feasible in most sates.

R1 - the loss of efficiency with EVs in cold weather can be as high as 25%. That’s not really practical for us frozen Canucks who don’t want to suffer range anxiety. My ICE vehicle doesn’t suffer the same loss in efficiency or range. And not everyone has a heated garage - or a garage period.

....

Seems like a big dose of reality r1. I'd bet this is a huge problem with these things. They are just a bad idea.

A co-worker of mine has a Tesla. He's a smug douchebag asshole. I hope his Tesla catches fire.

The thing that bothers me about EV fanatics is that they don't consider what the baseload generation fuel is where they live. If you buy a Tesla, but your electricity generation comes 90% from fossil fuels, you're not helping.

Electric cars are expensive, unreliable, and not suitable for the 80% of the country that doesn't live in Southern Carolina. Take this shit elsewhere.

I don't know any Tesla drivers who are "liberal". All the ones I know are wealthy, conservative, Republican-voting assholes.

[quote]Car drivers get so offended when you mention that everyone doesn't need a car and you can actually have a great life without one.

Not in most places in the US. A car is essential.

R60 I know a handful who are 'liberal'. I think they honestly think they are 'helping' the environment. And now that Elon has shown what a colossal douche he is, I bet they have buyer's remorse.

I wouldn't buy a Tesla. It has nothing to do with Apartheid Baby Elon, they are a safety risk. Catching on fire, the self drive feature that mows down pedestrians. Oh, and this video sealed it.

Tesla owners are assholes. I say this as a BMW fan.

Teslas are literally more trouble than they are worth. As other car makers with a proven track record release more and more EVs, I’d buy from them if in the market for an EV.

I think, overall, electric cars are probably a good thing, but listening to Terri Gross interview the guy who wrote a book on cobalt mining in the Congo this week - oof. The environmental and other impacts at the end stage are less, but leading up to it there's a lot of bad shit going on. Granted, we could say the same thing about gas/petroleum, couldn't we?

People in Alaska take their car batteries inside at night. Why would anyone think evs are immune to very cold temps.

Meanwhile, yesterday in Southern California...

That’s an old gag.

Overpriced shit-mobiles.

I’m not buying a fucking Musk-mobile.