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Effects of Winter on Tesla Battery Range and Regen
Winter conditions has begun to set in here in New England with temperatures not exceeding the 20’s. Thankfully I’ve already prepared my winter wheels and tires in advance so I’m not overly worried about the potential for snow, however I’m quickly learning the effects of winter on the battery and overall energy efficiency.
Cabin Temperature
Preheating the cabin temperature through the mobile Tesla Motors app.
The first order of business is making sure I’m comfortable when I get into the car each day. This means preheating the Model S cabin temperature through the Tesla App (if I happen to remember to) or, better yet, have it scheduled to automatically preheat via the VisibleTesla app.
My daily schedule looks something like this: VisibleTesla preheats the car 30 minutes before I enter and while it’s still plugged in from my overnight charge. This ensures I enter a warm car every morning with no affect on my range – the best of both worlds!
Leaving for work at the end of the day, however, is a bit more erratic so I usually use the Tesla App to preheat on an ad-hoc basis. I realize that this preheating will eat into my overall battery range, but I’m not overly concerned because I have plenty of range to spare even with a 100 mile commute each day. It’s well worth it for a little more comfort.
I enjoy turning on the air conditioner during the summer months but getting into a warm car in the dead of winter is even better!
Limited Regenerative Braking
Prior to the winter, the only times I have experienced limited regenerative braking (regen) was directly after performing range charges in anticipations of my Tesla road trip adventures. The Tesla battery does not have the capacity to receive additional energy (when at a 100% state of charge) thus it disables regenerative braking all together.
Winter months, however, bring a completely different experience with regen. When the Model S is cold it limits the ability to regen since the batteries need to be at an optimal temperature before it receives any additional charge.
A dashed yellow line appears on the center display indicating that regenerative braking is limited. If you’ve been accustomed to driving with regen on, this new behaviour (with regen disabled) will feel and drive very differently.
I found myself quickly rolling towards the cars in front of me as I instinctively ignored the brakes and assumed that the car would just come to a gradual stop by letting go of the accelerator pedal. That obviously didn’t happen with regen limited. You’ll need to use your brakes so be careful not to “over press” it as you quickly adjust to driving with brakes again.
This winter-induced form of limited regeneration lasts for a very long. I wasn’t sure if the lack of regen was isolated to the weather conditions for that particular day so I decided to log my results over a larger sample of several days.
Here’s what I noticed about the effects of winter on Tesla’s regenerative braking:
- There appears to be a linear easing off of the “regen cap” through the first 30 minutes. At 0 miles, when the car is just started, the amount of regen is capped at 20 kW.
- 25 minutes into my drive, the regen cap is loosened to 40 kW.
Graph depicting the amount of energy that can be regained through regen over time.
As you can see from some of my data points, it took me over 45 minutes of driving (30 miles covered) before the regenerative braking behavior was back to normal — that’s almost my entire drive home!
I’ve been experimenting with various approaches to avoid the regen capping. One of which is timing my overnight charge so that it completes right at the time I’m about to leave for work. This ensures that the batteries are at a good temperature, by the time I begin driving, and with no regen cap in place. Timing it perfectly can be tricky.There’s been a few occasions where my charge completed earlier than expected and as a result the batteries cooled off before I got to drive.Here again VisibleTesla can help, but it’s an area that I wish Tesla would address directly —
add a feature to allow users to specify the END time for a charge as opposed to the start time. The Model S should calculate when charging begins based on the set end time.
I’ve been experimenting with ways to reduce the after-work limited regenerative braking occurrences but since there’s no charging infrastructure at my work, I can’t pre-warm the batteries. I’ve even tried warming up the cabin temperature in advance to see if this would have an impact on regenerative braking but unfortunately it doesn’t.
Higher Energy Use
Cold weather definitely affects energy use on the Model S. My tires, while great for winter, are less efficient — they’re not the low rolling resistance tires that came with the Model S. I’m also using extra energy for warming the cabin (despite my chilly 66 F year-round cabin temperature setting). The Model S is also using extra power when managing the battery temperature.
Prior to winter my average energy consumption was around 300-315 kWh/mi but now I’m averaging 350-365 kWh/mi or approximately 16% more energy used than summer months. I’m also using my brakes more during the winter, as a result of the limited regenerative braking, so that will also introduce more wear and tear.
One piece of advice from Tesla is to use seat heaters to warm yourself up over cabin heat. The seat heaters apply heat directly to your body and thus a more efficient use of energy. If you have your cabin temperature set at 72 F , try reducing it to 68 F and use your seat heaters to warm yourself up.
I’m sure I’ll be uncovering a lot more tips and interesting findings over the next few months especially as the snow storms start blowing in and temperatures dip into single digits! Stay tuned!
News
Ford cancels all-electric F-150 Lightning, announces $19.5 billion in charges
“Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher returning areas, more trucks and van hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, affordable EVs, and entirely new opportunities like energy storage.”
Ford is canceling the all-electric F-150 Lightning and also announced it would take a $19.5 billion charge as it aims to quickly restructure its strategy regarding electrification efforts, a massive blow for the Detroit-based company that was once one of the most gung-ho on transitioning to EVs.
The announcement comes as the writing on the wall seemed to get bolder and more identifiable. Ford was bleeding money in EVs and, although it had a lot of success with the all-electric Lightning, it is aiming to push its efforts elsewhere.
It will also restructure its entire strategy on EVs, and the Lightning is not the only vehicle getting the boot. The T3 pickup, a long-awaited vehicle that was developed in part of a skunkworks program, is also no longer in the company’s plans.
Instead of continuing on with its large EVs, it will now shift its focus to hybrids and “extended-range EVs,” which will have an onboard gasoline engine to increase traveling distance, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Ford no longer plans to produce select larger electric vehicles where the business case has eroded due to lower-than-expected demand, high costs, and regulatory changes,” the company said in a statement.
🚨 Ford has announced it is discontinuing production of the F-150 Lightning, as it plans to report a charge of $19.5 billion in special items.
The Lightning will still be produced, but instead with a gas generator that will give it over 700 miles of range.
“Ford no longer… pic.twitter.com/ZttZ66SDHL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 15, 2025
While unfortunate, especially because the Lightning was a fantastic electric truck, Ford is ultimately a business, and a business needs to make money.
Ford has lost $13 billion on its EV business since 2023, and company executives are more than aware that they gave it plenty of time to flourish.
Andrew Frick, President of Ford, said:
“Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher returning areas, more trucks and van hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, affordable EVs, and entirely new opportunities like energy storage.”
CEO Jim Farley also commented on the decision:
“Instead of plowing billions into the future knowing these large EVs will never make money, we are pivoting.”
Farley also said that the company now knows enough about the U.S. market “where we have a lot more certainty in this second inning.”
SpaceX employees, including its CEO Elon Musk, shaded American Airlines on social media this past weekend due to the company’s reported talks with Amazon’s Starlink rival, Leo.
Starlink has been adopted by several airlines, including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, WestJet, Air France, airBaltic, and others. It has gained notoriety as an extremely solid, dependable, and reliable option for airline travel, as traditional options frequently cause users to lose connection to the internet.
Many airlines have made the switch, while others continue to mull the options available to them. American Airlines is one of them.
A report from Bloomberg indicates the airline is thinking of going with a Starlink rival owned by Amazon, called Leo. It was previously referred to as Project Kuiper.
American CEO Robert Isom said (via Bloomberg):
“While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at. We’re making sure that American is going to have what our customers need.”
Isom also said American has been in touch with Amazon about installing Leo on its aircraft, but he would not reveal the status of any discussions with the company.
The report caught the attention of Michael Nicolls, the Vice President of Starlink Engineering at SpaceX, who said:
“Only fly on airlines with good connectivity… and only one source of good connectivity at the moment…”
CEO Elon Musk replied to Nicolls by stating that American Airlines risks losing “a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails.”
American Airlines will lose a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2025
There are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit currently, offering internet coverage in over 150 countries and territories globally. SpaceX expands its array of satellites nearly every week with launches from California and Florida, aiming to offer internet access to everyone across the globe.
Currently, the company is focusing on expanding into new markets, such as Africa and Asia.
News
Tesla Model Y Standard stuns in new range test, besting its Premium siblings
Tesla’s newer vehicles have continued to meet or exceed their EPA estimates. This is a drastic change, as every 2018-2023 model year Tesla that Edmunds assessed did not meet its range estimates.
The Tesla Model Y Standard stunned in a new range test performed by automotive media outlet Edmunds, besting all of its Premium siblings that are more expensive and more luxurious in terms of features.
Testing showed the Model Y Standard exceeded its EPA-estimated range rating of 321 miles, as Edmunds said it is the “longest-range Model Y that we’ve ever put on our loop.” In the past, some vehicles have come up short in comparison with EPA ranges; for example, the Model Y’s previous generation vehicle had an EPA-estimated range of 330 miles, but only drove 310.
Additionally, the Launch Series Model Y, the first configuration to be built in the “Juniper” program, landed perfectly on the EPA’s range estimates at 327 miles.
It was also more efficient than Premium offerings, as it utilized just 22.8 kWh to go 100 miles. The Launch Series used 26.8 kWh to travel the same distance.
It is tested using Edmunds’ traditional EV range testing procedure, which follows a strict route of 60 percent city and 40 percent highway driving. The average speed throughout the trip is 40 MPH, and the car is required to stay within 5 MPH of all posted speed limits.
Each car is also put in its most efficient drive setting, and the climate is kept on auto at 72 degrees.
“All of this most accurately represents the real-world driving that owners do day to day,” the publication says.
With this procedure, testing is as consistent as it can get. Of course, there are other factors, like temperature and traffic density. However, one thing is important to note: Tesla’s newer vehicles have continued to meet or exceed their EPA estimates. This is a drastic change, as every 2018-2023 model year Tesla that Edmunds assessed did not meet its range estimates.
Tesla Model Y Standard vs. Tesla Model Y Premium
Tesla’s two Model Y levels both offer a great option for whichever fits your budget. However, when you sit in both cars, you will notice distinct differences between them.
The Premium definitely has a more luxurious feel, while the Standard is stripped of many of the more premium features, like Vegan Leather Interior, acoustic-lined glass, and a better sound system.
You can read our full review of the Model Y Standard below:
Tesla Model Y Standard Full Review: Is it worth the lower price?
Ford cancels all-electric F-150 Lightning, announces $19.5 billion in charges
SpaceX shades airline for seeking contract with Amazon’s Starlink rival
