Post by peachy on Jan 2, 2023 15:09:57 GMT
Makes me not trust EVs even more:
www.yahoo.com/news/brother-sister-had-stop-6-090000489.html
Xaviar and Alice Steavenson wanted to find out what it's like to drive a Tesla, so they rented one from Hertz for a trip from Orlando, Florida, to Wichita, Kansas.
They say they knew the electric car would need charging en route — and expected it to take longer after the weather turned so cold in late December — but what the siblings didn't expect was just how often they'd need to plug it in.
Xaviar Steavenson told Insider it got to the point that the "battery would drain faster than it would charge."
When they set off, Steavenson said, they could drive for at least 2 ½ hours before needing to charge the Tesla. "We ended up having to stop every one to 1 ½ hours to charge for an hour, then an hour and a half, then two hours," he said.
"So beyond the lost time, it also got to the point it was between $25 and $30 to recharge," Steavenson said. "Just in one day, we stopped six times to charge at that cost."
Steavenson said Hertz said on its website that renting a Tesla was "always cheaper than gas" but added that he'd found the claim to be far from his experience.
He said when he and his sister first called Hertz, the agent told him he'd "had nothing but Tesla calls today" and had "no idea why they're having issues."
A Hertz representative told Insider: "We have not experienced a significant increase in communication from customers about the battery of their EV rentals. However, battery range varies by vehicle manufacturer and can be influenced by multiple factors including weather and driving conditions."
The Steavensons were not alone, though, in reporting Tesla charging problem in cold weather. A 44-year-old radio host from the city of Lynchburg in eastern Virginia told Insider it was 19 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 7 Celsius, when he was left stranded just before Christmas because his Model S wouldn't charge.
Steavenson said Hertz told him to go to the closest branch to get a new car. "However, they don't have Teslas there or not even the equivalent, so I'm headed back in a Nissan Rogue Sport," he said. "At least it's economical."
Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.
They say they knew the electric car would need charging en route — and expected it to take longer after the weather turned so cold in late December — but what the siblings didn't expect was just how often they'd need to plug it in.
Xaviar Steavenson told Insider it got to the point that the "battery would drain faster than it would charge."
When they set off, Steavenson said, they could drive for at least 2 ½ hours before needing to charge the Tesla. "We ended up having to stop every one to 1 ½ hours to charge for an hour, then an hour and a half, then two hours," he said.
"So beyond the lost time, it also got to the point it was between $25 and $30 to recharge," Steavenson said. "Just in one day, we stopped six times to charge at that cost."
Steavenson said Hertz said on its website that renting a Tesla was "always cheaper than gas" but added that he'd found the claim to be far from his experience.
He said when he and his sister first called Hertz, the agent told him he'd "had nothing but Tesla calls today" and had "no idea why they're having issues."
A Hertz representative told Insider: "We have not experienced a significant increase in communication from customers about the battery of their EV rentals. However, battery range varies by vehicle manufacturer and can be influenced by multiple factors including weather and driving conditions."
The Steavensons were not alone, though, in reporting Tesla charging problem in cold weather. A 44-year-old radio host from the city of Lynchburg in eastern Virginia told Insider it was 19 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 7 Celsius, when he was left stranded just before Christmas because his Model S wouldn't charge.
Steavenson said Hertz told him to go to the closest branch to get a new car. "However, they don't have Teslas there or not even the equivalent, so I'm headed back in a Nissan Rogue Sport," he said. "At least it's economical."
Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.
www.yahoo.com/news/brother-sister-had-stop-6-090000489.html
