(Kansas City Star) Tesla owners are lining up at Chicago-area charging stations as subzero temperatures cause electric vehicle batteries to die quickly, Chicago news outlets report. But, their cars aren’t always making it to the charging port.
Fox32 called the charging lots “car graveyards,” describing the abandoned cars left in the lot after cars wouldn’t charge. Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS2 that multiple cars had been towed from an Evergreen Park charging station.
Tesla driver Wes France told WGN9 he drained his car battery just looking for a charging station around the Chicago suburbs and eventually used a tow truck to get his car to a charger. McClatchy News reached out to Tesla for comment on Jan. 16 and was awaiting a response.
By the time a Tesla driver gets to one a charging station, they may be faced with hours-long lines, according to CBS2. “I’ve been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car,” Welbourne told CBS2 at a charging station in Evergreen Park on Monday, Jan. 15.
If a driver found an available charger, they may be waiting hours for their car to get fully charged. Welbourne told CBS2 the charging process took 2 hours, but should have taken 45 minutes. Fox32 reported some chargers at a station in Oak Brook were not working.
