Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
My niece bought a Tesla a few years ago, just before covid. My niece's hubby was telling me that they get very poor "mileage" in winter because there is an internal battery heater that keeps the battery warm in cold weather. He is talking about Portland OR to put "cold" weather into perspective. When I have been there in winter, it was in the 20s and 30s (F) for temps.
I have read that Tesla is switching to a heat pump instead of battery heaters, as it is more energy efficient for maintaining battery temperatures.
But, I do not have an EV, so I can't say any more on the topic. More than half of my miles are long distance trips of several hundred miles, the charging networks are not well enough established for me to consider an EV yet.
My spouse bought a 2023 Tesla in August of 2023. The cabin heater is a heat pump. The car heats and cools the battery automatically, and it will preheat the battery before we drive if we tell it we are going to drive it. I don't know if it uses the heat pump to warm the battery. It also cools or warms the battery when we charge, depending on the conditions.
So with extra machinery and software, you can use these batteries in cold weather, but all of that comes at a cost. It's not a cost that makes sense for a bicycle light.