Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai
Electric vehicle ranges can significantly degrade just by sitting in cold temperatures, and Tesla is not immune to physics, as detailed at a recent conference by a Russian minister.
Russia’s Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said his Tesla Model X 100D doesn’t keep to the range it claims it has due to the cold winters in the nation, according to a report from RT, the country’s state-controlled publication.
At Dubai’s re-scheduled Expo 2020 during a Russia National Day session, Manturov said, “The existing energy storage units aren’t yet a fully established technology, particularly in our climatic conditions.”
Manturov continued, “It has a claimed range of up to 450km, but my experience shows that, after being parked for an hour and half at -30 degrees Celsius, the vehicle is barely able to get me home, as the remaining range was only enough to drive less than 100km – in fact, even less.”
Minus 30 degrees Celsius is about -22 Fahrenheit.
Tesla Undecided on 4th Gigafactory Location Says Musk, as Rumours Claim Russia Next https://t.co/NA35ilmFrE
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) September 21, 2021
The comments took place at the conference event in Dubai that was launched on October 1 and will continue through March 31, 2021, though it was originally set to take place in 2020-2021 and was re-scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tesla vehicles and other electric vehicles traditionally struggle in cold weather, even in regions that are less cold than most places in Russia. EV batteries perform best at an optimum temperature, and not in frigid temperatures. Tesla vehicles can be preconditioned for specific departure times for an optimum driving experience.
Earlier this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also said he would be considering a factory in Russia at some point.
