The cold storm in the United States causes an unexpected problem: electric cars

With temperatures dropping below freezing in Chicago, electric vehicle charging stations have become in scenes of desperation: dead batteries, drivers in conflict and queues that extend to the road.

“When it’s so cold, the cars don’t run well, chargers don’t work as well and people don’t work as well,” said Javed Spencer, an Uber driver who said he had done little in the past three days other than charge his rental Chevy Bolt and was worried about getting stuck with the battery. exhausted, Still.

Spencer, 27, said he left Sunday for a charging station with 30 miles (48 km) of battery remaining. Within minutes the battery was dead. The car had to be towed at the station.

“When I finally plugged it in, I have not been charged“he said. To recharge the battery, which normally takes Spencer an hour, I wanted five hours.

With more and more people owning electric vehicles, this winter’s cold spells have been created headaches for electric vehicle owners since temperatures below zero discharge the batteries and reduce autonomy.

And the problems may persist a little longer. Chicago and other parts of the United States and Canada have been hit this week extremely cold temperatures. The wind chill collapsed on Tuesday about -30 degrees across much of the Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service. Dangerously low temperatures and waves of snow are expected They stay until the end of the week.

“It’s like I don’t really want a Tesla.”

Vehicles use more energy to heat the batteries and the cabin when it is cold, so it is normal to see an increase in energy consumption, Tesla reminds users in a post on his site, where he offers some advice to motorists: keep the charge level above 20% to reduce the impact of sub-zero temperatures.

Tesla also advises drivers use its “scheduled departure” function. to record the start of a journey in advance, so that the vehicle can determine the best time to begin charging and preconditioning. This allows the car to run at maximum efficiency from the moment it is started.

Tuesday, in a very cold parking lot in ChicagoTesla drivers huddled in their cars waiting to charge.

That morning, said Nick Sethi, 35, an engineer from Chicago He had found his Tesla frozen AND Closed. An hour passed with temperatures five degrees below zero arguing with the locks.

Eventually, he managed to open the trunk handle, got out, and drove his long-range Model Y SUV 5 miles (8 m) to the nearest supercharging station. He has joined a long list of Tesla drivers.

All 12 loading docks were occupied, and drivers slowed the process slightly by remaining inside their vehicles. with high heating.

“It was a roller coaster,” Sethi, who moved to Chicago from Dallas last spring, said of owning a Tesla during a series of brutally cold days. “I will spend the winter and then I will decide whether to keep it“.

A few loading docks down, Joshalin Rivera too I was experiencing some buyer’s remorse. He sat warm inside his 2023 Tesla Model 3 while charging the battery.

“If you’re waiting in that line and you only have 50 miles (80 km), you’re not going to make it,” Rivera said, pointing to the line of vehicles that stretched toward Elston Avenue. He said he saw a Tesla whose desperate driver tried to cross the line die in the same spot on Monday.

Under normal conditions, Rivera’s car can travel up to 439 km. with a single charge of 30 minutes. This week, Rivera said he woke up and found about a third of his car’s battery he was exhausted due to the cold night. When temperatures plummeted, I spent hours every morning waiting in line and charging the battery.

“It’s like really I wouldn’t want a Tesla“, She said.