A Tesla owner saw what he thought was smoke coming out of his car and promptly called emergency services. A firefighter crew arrived no the spot only to see harmless water smoke billowing from the front end – a completely normal phenomenon, InsideEVs reports.
David Ciccone, a self-labeled ‘EV advisor’, plugged his car into a Supercharger outlet only to see the area around the hood getting hazy. It took a team of firefighters to convince him that water steam coming out of electric vehicles charging from high-power sources in winter is perfectly normal.
All newer Tesla models come with a preinstalled heat pump. It operates in similar vein to the regular air conditioner, extracting and dissipating battery heat. Some of the heat goes into the cabin to keep it warm, while the rest gets ejected outside. That’s why condensation and steam may form around the front end of the car in cold weather.
Tesla argues that using an AC for thermal regulation is more power-efficient than using a traditional electric heater and helps maximize range. It also specifically highlights in the manual that steam coming out of the car while charging in cold season is normal and nothing to worry about.
