A Tesla supercharging station in Illinois froze during the recent arctic storm, leaving dozens of Tesla owners unable to charge their cars.
Temperatures in Chicago have plummeted to as low as negative 27 degrees over the last few days. The extreme cold has caused massive backups and abandoned cars at public charging stations throughout the region. High temperatures for Tuesday were expected to reach four degrees.
Tesla said the main issue is that drivers are not following proper procedures when charging. The company recommends that drivers not let the battery discharge below 20% and use the battery conditioning mode to warm the battery before charging. Some steps, like setting the cabin temperature, can help warm the battery and allow charging.
“It’s not plug and go. You have to precondition the battery, meaning that you have to get the battery up to the optimal temperature to accept a fast charge,” said Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association, according to Fox 4 KDFW. “It’s not plug and go. You have to precondition the battery, meaning that you have to get the battery up to the optimal temperature to accept a fast charge.”
Many owners have been unable to charge since January 14, when temperatures dropped drastically. Others have seen charging times go from 45 minutes to more than two hours as the Tesla batteries struggle to take a charge. The failures have led some drivers to be forced to call a tow truck to move their vehicles, per the New York Post.
The failures have drawn a fair amount of criticism on social media. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) posted on X, “An EV charging station in Illinois is filled with dead cars due to the freezing temperatures. Biden wants to make this a reality for every state in the nation!”
The Biden administration has authorized massive taxpayer spending related to EV production and development. Through executive action, President Joe Biden mandated that 50% of new vehicle sales must be electric by 2030. Today, there are an estimated 3 million EVs on American roads.
Older EVs or vehicles not charged properly are more likely to have difficulty charging in cold weather. The average EV battery lasts about 10 years, meaning some of the earliest cars sold in the United States are beginning to age out. Even newer EVs will lose about 25% of the typical range in freezing weather.
The National Weather Service expects the current weather system to continue for the next several days, as reported by The Dallas Express. The storm has resulted in broken water mains in Dallas and a winter storm warning as far south as Corpus Christi.
