Desperate Tesla owners in and around Chicago were seen trying to charge their vehicles with no luck amid frigid temperatures that have gripped the Midwest.
Charging stations have essentially turned into car graveyards in recent days as temperatures have dropped to the negative double digits, Fox Chicago reported.
“Nothing. No juice. Still on zero percent,” Tyler Beard, who had been trying to recharge his Tesla at an Oak Brook, Illinois, Tesla supercharging station since Sunday afternoon, told the news outlet. “And this is like three hours being out here after being out here three hours yesterday.”
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Beard and several other Tesla owners were trying to charge their cars amid long lines and abandoned cars at other Tesla charging stations in the Chicago area, the news station reported.
“This is crazy. It’s a disaster. Seriously,” said Tesla owner Chalis Mizelle.
Mizelle said she abandoned her car and got a ride from a friend after hers would not charge.
“We got a bunch of dead robots out here,” one man said.
Kevin Sumrak told the Fox station that he landed Sunday night at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and found his Tesla dead and unable to start. He was forced to hire a flatbed tow truck to haul the vehicle to a working charging station.
One expert told the news outlet that cold weather can impact the ability of electric vehicles to charge properly.
“It’s not plug and go. You have to precondition the battery, meaning that you have to get the battery up to the optimal temperature to accept a fast charge,” said Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association.
FOX Business has reached out to Tesla, but has not yet heard back.
Original article source: Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold: ‘A bunch of dead robots out here’