In Chicago, extreme cold has rendered Teslas unusable, forcing owners to abandon them due to charging problems. Temperatures, which dropped to -18°C, slowed down the process of charging electric cars, taking up to two hours instead of the standard 45 minutes.
Many vehicles were abandoned or towed, with some motorists forced to wait more than five hours for charging. Intense cold affects the energy consumption of the batteries, necessary to heat the car and power the engine, indicated by a blue snowflake icon on the instrument panel.
Tesla dominates the US electric car market, with 55% of sales in the sector. With more than three million electric vehicles and 135,000 charging stations in the United States, the Biden administration’s goal is for half of new vehicles to be electric by 2030.