A pair of siblings rented a Tesla and found they had to stop six times in one day to charge it.
Xaviar Steavenson and his sister Alice drove from Orlando, Florida to Wichita, Kansas.
They said other customers with rented Teslas also called Hertz about similar charging issues.
Xaviar and Alice Steavenson wanted to find out what it was like to drive a Tesla, so they rented one from Hertz to drive from Orlando, Florida to Wichita, Kansas. They knew the electric car would need to be charged on the go, but the siblings hadn’t counted on how often they’d have to plug it in.
They knew it would take longer to charge the car after it got very cold in parts of the US in late December. However, they report that the “battery drained faster than it could be recharged,” Xaviar told Insider.
Tesla in the cold: In the end, two hours of charging time
When they drove off, they were able to drive at least two and a half hours before having to charge the Tesla. “We ended up all having to stop for an hour to an hour and a half to charge for an hour, then an hour and a half and finally two hours,” he said.
“Aside from the lost time, it also cost between $25 and $30 to charge. In one day alone we stopped six times to load the car for that price,” said Xaviar.
Hertz: No more complaints about electric cars
Hertz claims on its website that renting a Tesla “is always cheaper than gas,” according to Xaviar. But he says that claim is far from the truth. When the siblings first called Hertz, the rep told Xaviar that he had received calls about Tesla cars that day. “I have no idea why they’re having problems,” he said, according to Steavenson.
A Hertz spokesperson said when asked by Business Insider, “We have not seen a significant increase in communication from customers about the battery in their EV rentals. However, the range of the batteries varies from vehicle manufacturer to vehicle manufacturer and can be affected by various factors such as weather and driving conditions.”
Lynchburg radio host couldn’t load Tesla at all
The Steavensons weren’t the only ones who had trouble charging the Tesla in very cold weather. A 44-year-old radio host from Lynchburg, eastern Virginia, told Insider that he was stuck in -7 degrees just before Christmas because his Model S wouldn’t charge.
Xaviar said Hertz told him to go to the nearest branch to pick up a new car. “But they don’t have Teslas there, not even the equivalent, so I’ll drive back in a Nissan Rogue Sport — at least it’s economical.” Tesla didn’t respond to a query from Insider.
This article was translated from English by Steffen Bosse. You can find the original here.