Like all vehicles, Teslas require a little extra attention during the cold winter months. A common query among Tesla owners is the appearance of a blue snowflake icon next to the battery indicator on their vehicle's touchscreen and in the Tesla app. This icon is not just a quirky design choice; it carries important information about the state of your vehicle's battery, particularly in cold weather conditions.
What the Blue Snowflake Means
The blue snowflake icon warns that the battery is too cold to access its full power and range capabilities. When this icon is visible, owners might notice a reduction in regenerative braking and acceleration. The vehicle’s range is also reduced and charging may be slower than usual, especially at Superchargers. This is a protective measure by Tesla to prevent damage to the battery under cold conditions. The lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla vehicles, like those in other electric vehicles, are sensitive to temperature extremes. Cold temperatures can significantly impact the battery's chemical reactions, reducing its ability to store and release energy efficiently.
How Much of the Battery Is Affected
The Tesla app visually represents the battery's charge level, with the affected portion displayed in blue. By tapping on the battery icon or the charge button in the app, or similarly on the vehicle's touchscreen, users can jump to the Charging section in settings. Here, the portion of the battery displayed in blue represents the "locked" or unusable part of the battery due to cold temperatures. The extent of this blue section gives you a rough idea of how much of your battery's capacity is currently restricted.
Range Impact and Restoration
The vehicle's displayed range already accounts for the portion of the battery that is currently unusable by cold temperatures. This means the actual available range might be more than what is shown. As the battery warms up -- either through driving, charging, or preconditioning -- the additional range will be unlocked, and the blue snowflake icon will disappear. It's important to note that the colder the battery, the more range is temporarily inaccessible. Achieving normal operating temperature is crucial to unlocking this additional, temporarily unavailable range. Moreover, a cold battery can also diminish the vehicle's acceleration performance.
Why It Happens and How to Prevent It
The primary reason for this phenomenon is to safeguard the battery's integrity in cold weather. To minimize the impact of cold temperatures and prevent the snowflake icon from appearing, Tesla recommends keeping the vehicle plugged in whenever possible and maintaining a charge level above 20% when unplugged. Additionally, storing the vehicle in a garage and keeping it plugged in can help keep the battery from getting too cold. However, seeing the snowflake on colder days is still normal. Preconditioning the vehicle before use, a feature that preheats the battery and cabin can also mitigate the effects of cold weather on the battery.
Preheating enhances comfort and ensures that the battery operates efficiently from the moment you start driving, meaning that not only will you have full access to the vehicle’s power, but also its regenerative abilities and range. This approach, coupled with keeping the vehicle charged and stored in warmer conditions, can significantly reduce the occurrence of the blue snowflake icon, ensuring that your Tesla performs optimally, even in colder climates.
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Tesla’s Giga Texas factory usually gives us the first site of Tesla’s upcoming products. We first saw the Cybertruck and Model Y castings here. With Giga Texas being one of Tesla’s largest factories, it’s logical that most products would originate here.
Tesla has also stated that it intends to manufacture the Cybercab, Semi, the next-generation vehicle, and Optimus at Giga Texas over the coming years. The affordable vehicle and Cybercab were originally intended to be manufactured at Giga Mexico, but the plans for that facility were waylaid by changes in economic policy.
Robotaxi Castings
These new castings were spotted by Joe Tegtmeyer, who regularly does drone flights of Giga Texas. Joe pointed out that these castings don’t look like the usual Model Y or Cybertruck castings usually seen outside Giga Texas.
With an eagle eye, @minusYCore on X also spotted some interesting text on the frames holding the castings up. In particular, the castings say “RTTX050” and “W68-RSF AS-CAST”. These could be interpreted as ‘Robotaxi Texas’ and ‘Rear SubFrame.’ The as-cast portion indicates that these particular castings haven’t been trimmed yet, according to the X user.
These castings are much flatter and appear to be a different size than the castings found elsewhere throughout Giga Texas, indicating that they are intended for a different product entirely.
It’s possible that these are the first castings used by Tesla to test their unboxed assembly process, which the Cybercab is expected to rely on. If you take a closer look at the video below, you’ll note that these new castings look very similar to the ones in the unboxed assembly video.
Interestingly, Tesla did say that they don’t intend to have the Cybercab available for customers before late 2026 or early 2027, but we’ll likely hear updated timelines as Tesla’s Q1 2025 Earnings Call tomorrow.
A more vertical look at the castings.
@JoeTegtmeyer
New Giga Presses
To top it all off, new parts for a Giga Press - the machine Tesla uses to make these castings - were also sighted in Texas. These machines are few and far between, and each one is highly specialized for the particular vehicle it produces. Seeing new parts coming in usually indicates that a new assembly line is under construction, or that changes are being made to an existing line to either expand it or update it.
There’s a lot happening and we will hopefully know more tomorrow evening.
Tesla’s first large-scale partner for the Tesla Semi - PepsiCo - is building out another Semi Megacharger site per a recent filing found by MarcoRP. Building out these Semi charging sites is expensive due to their much higher power output when compared to Superchargers.
Name Change
Interestingly enough, Tesla appears to have shifted its terminology recently, now often referring to the Semi’s high-power charging solution as Tesla Semi Chargers instead of the previously common "Megachargers." Regardless of the name, these chargers are crucial for the Semi. They’re designed to deliver 1.2 megawatts of charging power capable of adding hundreds of miles of range in roughly 30 minutes.
Frito-Lay Site
The new site detailed in the recent filing will be located at a Frito-Lay production plant on Hageman Road in Bakersfield, California. Permits were filed just a couple of days ago for the installation of eight Tesla Semi Charger stalls along with their associated electrical equipment.
This facility adds to PepsiCo's existing network of chargers, supporting the Tesla Semis operating out of their Sacramento facility, and highlights Bakersfield as the next expansion of the Semi’s operational area. Notably, this new Frito-Lay charging site is strategically located just five miles (approx. 8 km) away from a massive future public charging complex Tesla is planning on Kelton Way.
Kelton Way Charging Complex
Tesla’s planned charging complex in Bakersfield, which is just down the road, will feature 72 Supercharger stalls, as well as 18 Semi charger stalls. According to pre-permits filed last month, this site will be fairly large and accessible to both the public and Tesla’s partners.
A rendering of the Kelton Way site - with the Semi Chargers on the outside, and the Covered Supercharger site in the center.
@MarcoRPi1 on X
Tesla plans to develop a vacant plot right off the interstate into a large charging hub, which is now the second major public Semi Charger site we’ve heard about. For now, these sites will remain rare, but we expect that Tesla and its partners will be happy to expand them out further as required.
Carson Semi Charger Site
These Bakersfield developments – both the private Frito-Lay site and the large public Kelton Way hub will help lay out the necssary infrastructure for the Tesla Semi, much like the early days of Tesla’s Superchargers. Since Semi cannot be charged at a Supercharger site (the MCS plug is notably different than NACS), these sites are a must-have.
Tesla's first publicly accessible Semi Charger site planned near the Port of Long Beach in Carson, California, was one of the first signs of these types of Semi Charger facilities being established - and like Kelton Way, it also includes amenities for truck drivers. Tesla is also considering what long, medium, and short-haul truckers need for their stays at these sites.
As Tesla works to ramp up production of the Semi itself, the parallel expansion of dedicated, high-power charging infrastructure by both Tesla and its key partners are essential to making electric heavy-duty trucking a reality.
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