Being a Silicon Valley carmaker, Tesla is subjected to a number of stereotypes that critics tend to bring up. One of these is the idea that Tesla’s vehicles are optimized for California weather only, so they must be ill-equipped to handle extreme weather, such as harsh winters. Such an idea is inaccurate.
This was highlighted by Tesla in a recently shared video on YouTube. The video is only about three and a half minutes long, but it provided a pretty good glimpse at the company’s efforts to make sure its cars could operate well in the cold. Regular winter tests are great, of course, but as per the EV maker in its recent video, it also does extreme cold weather testing.
When Tesla does something, the company tends to go all out. This seems to be the case with its extreme cold weather tests as well, as employees featured in the recently shared video noted that Tesla is testing its cars just a couple of kilometers below the Arctic Circle.
That’s pretty much as cold as one could get, so testing vehicles like the Model Y in the area provides the company with valuable insights about the all-electric crossover’s capabilities and performance in extreme cold weather.
The Tesla employees featured in the video noted that vehicles used in extreme cold testing sessions are put through scenarios that customers would likely encounter as they use their cars. A lot of work is put into ensuring that Teslas are able to operate in any weather — including extreme cold — so that they can be used reliably anywhere, even in the Arctic Circle.
Tesla’s winter tests have been catching headlines as of late since the electric vehicle maker brought over its upcoming pickup truck, the Cybertruck, to the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG) in New Zealand. Videos and images of the Cybertruck at the site suggested that Tesla’s upcoming pickup truck, just like its fellow stablemates, would be pretty capable in extremely cold weather.
Watch Tesla’s feature on its extreme cold weather testing in the video below.
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