How does your Tesla do in the winter? 

This is one of the most asked questions I get. I always wondered why. One day it clicked and I knew why. People have problems with their gas and diesel vehicles in the winter, so they want to know if an EV is as bad. 

Many starting batteries (on ICE vehicles) go flat in the cold and engines can't be started. In extreme cold not just diesel but also gas vehicles need to be "plugged" in! Not to charge the battery but they have a block heater  to keep the engine warm so it will start or at least start easier. 

Diesel can gel if not properly treated by the owner or no winter diesel was purchased at the fuel station. 

If you get your ICE (Internal Combustion Vehicle) started then it still takes some time for it to warm up, run smoothly and provide heat to the cabin. Many people decide to start their ICE vehicle way ahead of time to warm the cabin up and make sure it runs ok, but by doing so they pollute the environment not just with tailpipe emissions but also with noise.

An electric motor doesn't have a running problem at all in the cold! Actually electricity likes cold😉. EV's perform and drive just fine right away no warming up needed. Also you can pre-heat the cabin without "running" the car. Just turn the heater on, no noise or tailpipe emissions. If you don't pre-heat the cabin you still get heat right away coming from the vents of an EV since there is not an engine that needs to heat up first to provide cabin heat.

The disadvantage of an EV is that when heat for the cabin is produced is has to use energy from the traction battery and thus slowly eating away at the range of the EV. That range loss is relatively low and most people still have more than enough range. Another disadvantage is that the cold battery pack needs to warm up before regeneration can work fully, and fast charging will be limited. But these are not real problems with modern EV's. They have plenty of range and heat the battery pack when navigating to a charger. Your routine has to change a little when switching to an EV. Go check out @RMTFamily on YouTube for great videos including tons of tips and tricks based on real life experiences with their own EV's. Real life stuff not made up!