Tesla's Having Issues Charging In the Cold

cartechboy writes "It's winter, and apparently meteorologists have just discovered the term Polar Vortex, as that seems to be the only thing they can talk about these days. But seriously, it's cold, and apparently the darling child of the automotive industry, the new Tesla Model S electric car, is having issues charging in the cold weather. It's being reported that the charging cables that come with the car are unable to provide a charge when the temperature dips below zero. As you can imagine, this is an issue in a country like Norway where the Model S is one of the most popular cars. In fact, it seems this issue has already left one Model S owner stranded with a dead battery nearly 100 miles from the nearest charging station. Other owners are reporting issues charging. Tesla's European sales chief Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen apologized for he inconvenience owners are facing, and said it's 'trying hard to resolve' the issue. Apparently the issues are simply down to the differences in the Norwegian network as Norway uses a slightly different charging adapter than other countries in Europe."

Self-solving problem

[i kan reed]

People disincentivized into buying electric cars, increasing CO2 emissions, raising planetary temperatures until electric cars work.

Were having some trouble adapting them to the cold

[Terko]

Then we'll have to go out on Tauntauns

Re:Edgar Hansen Was Right

[Shinobi]

Well, as the joke goes here in Sweden:

Why are there no mental asylums in Norway?
It'd cost too much to put walls and a roof over the whole country....

Re:units please

[fahrbot-bot]

Centigrade? Farenheit?

Sometimes it doesn't matter. From Futurama [wikipedia.org]:

• Leela: Our car broke down and we're low on oxygen. Can we borrow some?
• Moon Farmer: Borry? Listen here, city girl. Oxygen doesn't grow on trees. You'll have to work it off doing chores on my hydroponic farm. You can go back to your precious park at sun-up.
• Fry: I guess we can do chores for a few hours.
• Leela: Fry, night lasts two weeks on the moon.
• Moon Farmer: Yep, drops down to minus-173.
• Fry: Celsius or Fahrenheit?
• Moon Farmer: First one, then the other.

Re:It's almost as though cars need winterizing

[CanHasDIY]

Did anyone seriously think the cold wouldn't be an issue? People need to get out of California and see what the rest of the world is like.

Merely pointing out that a world exists outside California is enough to blow a fair amount of minds, I'm afraid.

Even worse, you can extrapolate that to include, "outside 'Murica" for a large portion of the populace.

can't trust these electric cars!

[shadowrat]

good old gas and diesel cars always work when it's below freezing.

Re:Blaming the cables?

[sribe]

Thing is, a number of people have indicated that they have used third-party cables and those have solved the issue.

So it's obviously that the skin-effect electrons are out of phase with the ones in the middle, or that the wire is in the cable backward because, as everybody knows, the electrons flow through wire more easily in the same direction in which the wire was extruded. And that, of course, is why Monster brand charging cables would solve the problems ;-)

Re:units please

[mythosaz]

0F is "well below the freezing point".

...of what?

Re:units please

[Pope]

3M is headquartered in Minnesota, so it's clear the 3rd one just froze off from the cold.

Re: units please

[Anonymous Coward]

It's for the same reason that the interwebs are slow in the winter. The pipes get frozen. That's why everyone wants a fat pipe, so there will be some unfrozen space in the center where the bits can flow easily.