From Torque News.
A Tesla owner from Florida decided to find out the hard way. He rented a high mileage 2022 Tesla Model 3 and drove it to Canada in the middle of winter. What he experienced is something every current or future Tesla owner should hear.
Here’s exactly what he wrote in the Tesla High Mileage Club group:
"Hey everyone, just wanted to share a quick experience from my trip up to Canada this week.
I’m from Florida and drive a 2020 Model Y Long Range (57k miles, around 18% degradation). Love the thing — it’s been great all over south eastern U.S. But I’ve never had the chance to see how a Tesla handles real winter weather, so I rented a 2022 Model 3 Standard RWD with about 130k miles for the trip. Temps were brutal — between -18°F and 5°F — and it snowed pretty much every day."
Read the entire article with detailed analysis at Torque News at https://www.torquenews.com/1/florida-man-rents-2022-tesla-model-3-and-drives-canada-see-how-tesla-handles-real-winter-weather
First, this is not a Tesla problem. This is a physics problem. Lithium ion batteries lose efficiency in extreme cold. Cabin heating consumes serious energy. At minus 18 degrees, you are stress testing any EV. What impressed me most is not the range drop. It’s that a 130,000 mile rental Model 3 still felt tight and only showed about 7.5 percent degradation. That says something about long term battery durability.
Second, winter driving in a Tesla is absolutely manageable. But you must adapt. Preconditioning matters. Staying plugged in matters. Winter tires matter. If you treat an EV like a gas car in subzero weather, you will be frustrated. If you understand how thermal management works, you can plan around it. For drivers in cold states or Canada, this isn’t new. For someone from Florida, this was eye opening.
Now I want to hear from you.
Have you driven your Tesla or EV in real winter conditions? What kind of range loss did you see? And if you live in a warm climate, would this experience make you rethink taking your EV on a deep winter road trip?
This is Armen Hareyan from Torque News. Please follow us at https://twitter.com/torquenewsauto on Twitter and https://www.torquenews.com for daily automotive news. Also, follow us on Telegram at https://t.me/teslaev
