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Tesla showcases Model S and Model 3’s stellar handling in Winter Experience event
Tesla has awarded a few lucky owners with a trip to Kemi, Finland to experience the high-performance capabilities of the Model S and Model 3 vehicles for its “Winter Experience 2019” event. A video shared by one of the winners gives a first look at the perks enjoyed by the event’s attendees.
Several Model S and Model 3 in the video are seen parked outside what may be the Kemi SnowCastle, a hotel built from snow and ice annually in Finland, where Tesla’s guests were treated to a special dinner as part of their Winter Experience package. The all-electric sedans are also seen swerving through obstacle courses and taking laps around an ice track with a professional driver.
The winners of Tesla’s winter event were provided with complimentary travel, accommodation, and food during their trip. The main event, however, was the ice track demonstration of the vehicles’ all-wheel-drive handling in winter conditions and Tesla’s Track Mode feature exclusive to the Model 3 Performance.
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- Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019. | Credit: Danni Efraim
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- Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019. | Credit: Danni Efraim
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- Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019. | Credit: Danni Efraim
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- Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019. | Credit: Danni Efraim
Tesla’s all-wheel-drive electric cars are equipped with several features to enhance overall winter driving performance, primarily due to the enhanced traction provided by digital torque control in the front and rear wheels. This is prominent in the Model 3 Performance’s Track Mode, which features increased regenerative braking, track-focused powertrain cooling, and enhanced cornering to provide a full track-centered experience that maximizes the driver’s control during high-speed maneuvers.
The Winter Experience 2019 event comes amid Tesla’s continuous push to saturate the European midsize sedan market with the Model 3. Recent activity indicates the California-based car maker is anticipating a massive influx for the Model 3 Standard and Standard Plus versions which were launched earlier this month in the US. The $35,000 version of the electric vehicle is estimated to reach European markets in about 6 months.
Model 3 owners who didn’t make it to Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019 event can still find other events for Model 3 Track Mode experience. A Tesla-exclusive racetrack event called Tesla Corsa is currently on its third round and is set to take place on March 31st at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. The event’s organizers aim to give Tesla owners the opportunity to experience the all-electric performance benefits of their vehicles in a safe, controlled environment.
Tesla recently set a personal record for total number of combined vehicle sales in Norway, a country that could definitely benefit from the company’s vehicles’ winter features. Over 2,500 Model S, Model X, and Model 3 sold in the first three weeks of March this year, topping a previous record set in December 2017 when the electric car maker registered 2,461 Model S and Model X after a strong year-end push. Around 88% of all Tesla March registrations in Norway have been for the Model 3, a stat that certainly looks to be a nod to its winter capabilities.
Watch the video shared by Danni Efraim below for highlights from Tesla’s Winter Experience 2019 below.
News
Tesla breaks Norway’s all-time annual sales record with one month to spare
With November alone delivering 4,260 new registrations, Tesla has cemented its most dominant year ever in one of Europe’s most mature EV markets.
Tesla shattered Norway’s decade-old annual sales record this month, overtaking Volkswagen’s long-standing milestone with one month still left in the year. Backed by surging demand ahead of Norway’s upcoming VAT changes, Tesla has already registered 26,666 vehicles year-to-date, surpassing Volkswagen’s 2016 record of 26,572 units.
With November alone delivering 4,260 new registrations, Tesla has cemented its most dominant year ever in one of Europe’s most mature EV markets.
Model Y drives historic surge in Norway
Tesla’s impressive momentum has been led overwhelmingly by the Model Y, which accounted for 21,517 of Norway’s registrations this year, as noted in a CarUp report, citing data from Elbil Statistik. The Model 3 followed with 5,087 units, while the Model S and Model X contributed 30 and 19 vehicles, respectively. Even the parallel-imported Cybertruck made the charts with 13 registrations.
Demand intensified sharply through autumn as Norwegian buyers rushed to secure deliveries before the country’s VAT changes take effect in January. The new regulation is expected to add roughly NOK 50,000 to the price of a Model Y, prompting a wave of early purchases that helped lift Tesla beyond the previous all-time record well before year-end.
With December still ahead, Tesla is positioned to extend its historic lead further. Needless to say, it appears that Norway will prove to be one of Tesla’s strongest markets in Europe.
FSD could be a notable demand driver in 2026
What’s especially interesting about Tesla’s feat in Norway is that the company’s biggest selling point today, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), is not yet available there. Tesla, however, recently noted in a post on X that the Dutch regulator RDW has reportedly committed to issuing a Netherlands national approval for FSD (Supervised) in February 2026.
The RDW posted a response to Tesla’s post, clarifying the February 2026 target but stating that FSD’s approval is not assured yet. “The RDW has drawn up a schedule with Tesla in which Tesla is expected to be able to demonstrate that FSD Supervised meets the requirements in February 2026. RDW and Tesla know what efforts need to be made to make a decision on this in February. Whether the schedule will be met remains to be seen in the coming period,” the RDW wrote in a post on its official wesbite.
If FSD (Supervised) does get approved next year, Tesla’s vehicles could gain a notable advantage over competitors, as they would be the only vehicles on the market capable of driving themselves on both inner-city streets and highways with practically no driver input.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 rolled out late last week to Early Access Program (EAP) members, but its best feature is not what you think.
While Tesla has done a great job of refining the performance of the Full Self-Driving suite with the latest update, there are some other interesting additions, including one that many owners have requested for some time.
Upon the release of v14.2, many owners recognized the Blue Dot next to the Autopilot tab in Vehicle Settings, notifying them of a new feature. What was included as a new feature in the new update was a Full Self-Driving stats feature, which now will show you how many miles you’ve traveled in total, and how many of those miles were driven using FSD:
🚨 The coolest non-driving change of Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 pic.twitter.com/HOJcFaV2Ny
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
The feature seems to be more of a bragging rights thing than anything, but it will also give drivers a good idea of how many miles they are using Full Self-Driving for. Those who use telematics-based insurance services will also be able to run experiments of their own, and could determine whether their premiums are impacted by the use of Full Self-Driving, and whether it is more advantageous to use over manual driving.
Tesla rolled out numerous other improvements with Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2, most notably, the company seems to have resolved previous complaints about brake stabbing and hesitation. This was a major complaint in v14.1, but Tesla has seemed to resolve it with this newest branch of the FSD suite.
There were also improvements in overall operation, and it was notably smoother than past versions. Speed Profiles are seemingly refined as well, as they seem much more fixed on how fast they will travel and how aggressive they will be with things like passing cars on freeways and lane changes.
In future updates, Tesla plans to add Parking Spot selection, along with overall operational improvements. However, CEO Elon Musk recently said that the next branch, Full Self-Driving v14.3, will be where the “final piece of the puzzle is placed.” Tesla believes it is close to solving autonomy, so v14.3 could be a major jump forward, but it remains to be seen.
Tesla has adjusted the functionality of a crucial climate feature as Winter weather has started to arrive throughout some parts of the United States. The new feature was highly requested by owners.
Tesla has a Cabin Overheat Protection feature that helps keep the temperature regulated if it reaches a certain threshold. Inversely, it can be used in cold weather as well, which will automatically warm the cabin if it sinks to a temperature that is too low for the owner’s comfort.
This is a great way to keep the cabin either warmed up just enough or cooled down just enough so that it never gets too hot or too cold. Extreme temperatures could damage certain parts of the vehicle or damage personal belongings that are kept inside the car.
Overheat protection is a great thing to have in hot climates like Arizona or Texas, especially with the Premium trims of the Model 3 and Model Y, which feature a glass roof.
Many owners appreciate the feature, but they argue that using it at home will utilize too much energy, especially during extreme temperatures. For a while, many Tesla fans have requested an option to disable this feature when the car is parked at home, which the company recently added, according to Not a Tesla App.
The feature is part of Software Version 2025.44.3, and the release notes state:
“You can now choose Exclude Home when Cabin Overheat Protection or No A/C is enabled.”
Tesla has been great at listening to what owners want with new features, and this is one that will reserve some charge and prevent unnecessary utilization of available power, especially as the car is parked at home. If owners want to condition the cabin or get the car ready for operation with a comfortable interior, they can utilize the Tesla app to adjust the climate.
Tesla breaks Norway’s all-time annual sales record with one month to spare
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2’s best new feature is not what you think
