Will the Tesla Model S Get Poor Range in Cold Weather?

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Ia question asked by David Noland, a Tesla Model S reservation holder who is also a freelance writer. He posted an article on greencarreports.com, asking whether to go for the $10,000 more expensive 60 kWh battery pack for his car, factoring in his daily commute needs, as well as batteries’ loss of capacity during extremely cold weather.

And thus, he has discovered that there is no real data available to answer his question, as Tesla’s range-calculating application only goes as low as 0°C (32°F), so it’s not really helpful, given the low temperatures often recorded in his home state of New York and its surroundings. He reportedly got an email from Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, saying that the drop in capacity would be closer to 20%, not 40.

If the Model S would suffer from the same drop in range as the Chevrolet Volt, which can lose up to 40% of its battery capacity in really cold weather, then a 40 kWh battery pack would leave him stranded, with around 32 km (20 miles) from his destination, as its range would drop significantly. This has prompted us to ask ourselves the same question, having realized that nobody has really mentioned the problem of cold weather range for the Model S, despite reports that it could actually exceed its predicted range.

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On 18 July 2012 at 07:46 UTC, Mathew Hystek said:

batteries have a self discharge rate and an internal resistance. when you cool a battery, you are slowing down the reactions within the battery, which in turn actually helps to preserve the batteries life. but because the cold slows down the reaction, it also develops a larger internal resistance, consuming energy and increasing the reaction. but at the same time, if very little is drawn, then the battery actually will deliver better performance. there are alot of factors to consider how much the cold actually affects the batteries, and may i say because of the diverse scenarios to consider, its very hard to predict what you will get.

On 18 July 2012 at 10:23 UTC, Meredith Spitalnik said:

The Model S has improved temperature-regulation controls even over the Roadster. Like the Roadster, the battery pack is both heated and liquid-cooled, which is quite different from those used by the Volt and Leaf, which are air-cooled. I'm not sure whether or not the Volt and Leaf heat their batteries in cold weather. So the drop in range driving in extreme temps is not so much a factor of battery performance at that temperature, but a factor of the power required to maintain the optimal battery temperature.

The side effect of this is that you should plug it in when it will be sitting for a long time in extreme temperatures, as when it is unplugged, it can drain the battery trying to maintain optimal temperature. To do this you need just a trickle of power (unlike to actually recharge the battery) so any 110 outlet will do to maintain the battery. If you bring an extension cord to work, you can maintain the battery while it's parked and probably recharge a little before you return home.

On 23 July 2012 at 18:47 UTC, John Martin said:

Meredith--Volt is actually liquid cooled as well.

On 11 May 2013 at 10:55 UTC, Gary B. said:

The EPA says a 33 kilowatt battery equals 1 gallon of gasoline. The Tesla S comes with either a 60kWh battery or an 85kWh battery. If a gasoline powered Tesla S could get a whopping 40 miles per gallon, you should expect the electric Tesla to get between 80 and 110 miles per charge. Tesla's estimates are 2-3 times too high.