Electric vehicle owners this winter have been saddled with charging woes due to the deep freeze.
Local media reports show a surge of Tesla owners waiting in long lines for public chargers due to the cold hampering the vehicles’ ranges.
Some became stranded and forced to have their EVs towed to a charging station because their battery levels plummeted to empty. Others said their vehicles simply wouldn’t charge.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The travel woes for drivers stuck in subzero temperatures underscore the challenges for a rapid EV transition as the Biden administration and blue states look to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that two-thirds of new vehicles sold by 2032 should be electric while more than a dozen Democratic-run states have policies to phase out new gas-powered cars altogether by 2035.
“I’m out of this Tesla after today. I’m not gonna ride it again,” Darryl Johnson, a Tesla owner in Illinois who is an Uber driver, told Chicago’s WGN-TV. “I’d rather go back to gas, absolutely.”
EVs of all makes are more heavily affected by extreme cold and hot temperatures than their gas-powered counterparts. EV drivers are advised to defrost their car to warm the cabin and battery to improve charging. Manufacturers also say don’t let the battery level drop below 20%.
Tesla warns on its website that extreme cold may cause the charge port latch to freeze and prevent the charge cable from being removed or inserted, prevent exterior side mirrors from folding or unfolding, and hinder normal use of door handles.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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