An Arctic blast is hitting most of the United States, with 80% of it experiencing below-freezing levels overnight. A Chicago-based woman issued a public service announcement about why you shouldn’t own a Tesla, especially if you live in a cold area.
The video featured TikToker Angie Brunson (@ms.iwinwewin) driving in her car. Brunson started by telling her 31,000 followers not to own a Tesla unless they’re located in Florida, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, California, and Georgia. She said the weather in Chicago has been in the negatives for the past few days, resulting in her being unable to charge her car at Tesla’s Supercharger stations. “I’m literally having to go miles and miles away from my home to just charge my car,” she said. “Thank God that I can charge my car in my garage, but y’all, this is ridiculous.”
Brunson then pulled up a list of the Superchargers nearest to her on her car’s screen. Her screen had seven stations, two red and the rest gray. Brunson said red meant the location had charging stalls readily available, while gray meant there would be a wait time. Next, she scrolled down on her screen, revealing more charging stations. Six of the ones shown were available, and the rest had wait times. “I’ve never seen it like this before,” she commented. Brunson pointed out one in Orland Park, Illinois, that had 25 25-minute wait time with seven out of twelve stalls out of order. Another Supercharger in Burr Ridge, Illinois, had a 15-minute wait. However, the continent creator didn’t believe it.
“It don’t be 15 minutes because it’s people already there waiting,” she said. Afterward, she headed to a Supercharger that was further away because it supposedly had stalls available. “Y’all, look at this,” she said, showing the packed Supercharger station. On the left were the charging stalls, with cars parked at each one; on the right, parked cars waiting for a stall. In an on-screen caption, Brunson wrote that most of the charging cars were dead. She also said a small section of charging stalls was broken.
As she drove away, Brunson shared that if she had stayed to charge her car, she would have been waiting around three hours because there were so many people ahead of her, and each car would take an hour to charge. “Don’t get you a Tesla,” she stated. “If you do get you a Tesla, make sure that you have a garage that you can charge your joint up at your house. If you live in cold weather, don’t do it,” she concluded.
@ms.iwinwewin Tesla done made my southside Chicago accent come out! 🤦🏽♀️ #tesla #teslasupercharger #teslainthesnow #supercharger #irritated #teslatok #teslacheck #teslainwinter ♬ original sound – Ms. Iwin Wewin
The Daily Dot reached out to Brunson via TikTok comment and direct message and Tesla via press email. The video amassed 972,000 views and drew comments from viewers who preferred gas cars to electric vehicles.
“And this is why I go to a gas station, not a charging station,” one viewer wrote.
“I never waited for a gas pump!” a second commented.
“Yeah, all I hear is inconveniences!! Absolutely not,” a third stated.
However, others found loopholes.
“I have a Hybrid vehicle that regenerates energy when I brake- no plug in. Works beautifully,” one viewer remarked.
“Bring a portable charger for the tesla like a Ecoflow or a gas generator and keep it in your truck,” a second suggested.
Why can’t Teslas handle the cold? According to Tesla’s website, “Vehicles use more energy to heat the battery and cabin, and it’s normal to see energy consumption increase. We have made several updates to improve your driving experience in freezing temperatures including better overall thermal performance, quicker Supercharging, and improved cabin conditioning.”
