Man left Tesla running for 12 hours in -28 degrees to test how durable it really is
Getting stranded in the cold with an electric vehicle is something that many prospective buyers are right to be concerned about, but one YouTuber shows that your Tesla might just fare better than expected.
Freezing temperatures are never nice to be outside in, and heating your car enough to combat the cold is something that can leave you in trouble if you end up stranded and unable to get home.
While most people won't get close to the difficulty that Siberian residents have when it comes to driving in winter, you'll still have to consider how far your vehicle can stretch if you do happen to get stuck on the road when its minus temperatures outside.
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Thankfully YouTuber FrozenTesla has dispelled some myths surrounding electric vehicles, as they conducted an experience where their Tesla was left running all night while in temperatures of up to -28⁰C.
It's meant to simulate what it would be like if there was a traffic jam or a landslide that stopped your car in its tracks, where you'll want to turn on the heating, enable heated seats, and maybe even watch a movie while you wait for everything to clear.
Starting at 67% - as you're never going to find yourself in a situation like this with a full battery - Keep Climate mode is activated to ensure that you stay nice and toasty in your car.
Checking back in every hour or so, the battery only drops around 3.5% every time despite these supposedly power-hungry features being enabled, and there's even enough room for you to keep yourself entertained with a film or the radio too.
Returning in the morning after around 12 hours or so, it's shown that the battery has dropped to 29%, which is nearly 40% overall or just over 3% per hour. This would then give you a decent buffer to drive home with if you happened to be stuck for that length of time, but any less and you might have to start to worry.
Fully charged batteries would be able to be left on for around 31 hours though, which is definitely long enough to keep you going in the most extreme circumstances - although you do have to consider that the Model 3 in this video is the Long Range version which has a slightly larger battery capacity than it's Rear-Wheel Drive counterpart.
Another thing to think about is that the equivalent cost in battery power for this length of time is around $3.58, whereas the same in standard gasoline cars would be around $7.86. This is, of course, double the price - but a small cost compared to that of getting your car towed.
It's true that you're going to get a far longer idle time in a standard gas car compared to an EV, but it's far less dramatic of a difference than you might expect, and the Tesla holds up more than enough to cope in extreme situations.
One comment remarks: "He just proved that having a Tesla in cold weather isn't as dramatic as some people claim," whereas another adds that "living in the arctic I can confirm that my Tesla is the best winter vehicle I've had."
It's definitely something to think about if cold climates are putting you off an EV, as it could be much more viable than you might think.