January 18, 2024

Elon’s Muff: Chicago Drivers Stranded As Tesla Charging Stations Falter In Cold

"I have seen at least 10 cars get towed away from here because the cars, they died, they've run out of battery."

If electric cars replace gas-based vehicles in the future, some kinks need to be worked out first.

According to ABC 7 News, with the Chicago area in a cold snap, many charging stations are not working properly, inconveniencing drivers who need to recharge their batteries.

“Our batteries are so cold it’s taking longer to charge now, so it should take 45 minutes; it’s taking two hours for the one charger that we have,” said Brandon Welbourne, who owns a Tesla. “I have seen at least 10 cars get towed away from here because the cars, they died, and they’ve run out of battery. It’s too cold; it uses too much of the energy to try to keep the car somewhat reasonable temperature, so everybody is getting towed away, and we have nowhere to charge.”

Other drives became stranded waiting for other drivers to attempt to have their batteries recharged in the cold weather.

“Right from outside the highway, there’s a whole line of cars, about over 20 cars, all Tesla cars, and you can look around here. Every single car is a Tesla car, full with Tesla cars this whole parking lot. And we’re waiting and waiting for over an hour,” said Sajid Ahmed, a Tesla driver. “It’s unfortunate that these cars are sitting dead in the spots.”

Fox 32 Chicago received some advice for owners of electric vehicles from Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association.

“Like any new technology, there’s a learning curve for people. 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,” Bilek said.

He added that all-electric vehicles can have issues when dealing with extremely cold weather.

Tesla did not respond to Fox 32’s request for comment.