Curtis Bloom of Shellbrook stands beside his Tesla Model S. (submitted photo/Curtis Bloom)

By Alison Sandstrom

Surprisingly hot wheels

Shellbrook man says Tesla ‘performing at 100 per cent’ despite deep freeze

Jan 17, 2020 | 5:04 PM

If you had doubts about the ability of electric cars to handle extreme cold weather, you could hardly have imagined a better time to test their performance than this past week in Northeastern Saskatchewan.

As the temperature fell to near – 40 Celsius yesterday, Shellbrook-based Tesla Model S owner, Curtis Bloom said his car was performing “at 100 per cent.”

“No problems at all, just get in… and drive,” he told paNOW.

Bloom said the only issue electric car owners have to keep in mind in winter is their decreased range. The vehicles are not able to go as far on a charge because the battery is also used to heat the car.

Bloom estimates his car’s range goes down to about 350 km in the winter, but says that’s not a worry for him.

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“You charge at home, so every time you leave home, your car is charged, so it’s not like you have to stop at a gas station somewhere because you filled overnight.”

He added he never has trouble starting the vehicle in the cold, because the battery is surrounded by coolant, which keeps it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

There’s also never any need to warm the car up before driving.

“The heat in the car in the winter time is phenomenal, you find yourself turning the heat down because it’s too hot in there usually,” he said.

There’s also an option to leave the heat on without running the motor, so the car stays warm.

“You can set the temperature, say if you go into a store or something,” he explained.

Bloom bought his Tesla in June and anticipates that as more fast changing stations become available around the province, we’ll start seeing more electric vehicles on the road.

“The more that we have, the more of these cars are going to be driven around for everyday use,” he said.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom

Curtis Bloom, a Tesla Model S o