Tesla Model X makes a cozy sleeping spot - even in freezing temperatures

Norwegian Tesla enthusiast Bjørn Nyland is a prolific producer of videos featuring all kinds of practical tips (and a few that are impractical, but fun) on how to get the most out of your Model S or X. Not long ago, he detailed the features that make Model S a fine mini-hotel room: plenty of room to stretch out, climate control and a panoramic view.

Above: Bjørn Nyland loves adventure in his Tesla (Source: Bjørn Nyland)

But how does that work if it’s really cold? Most of us would probably imagine sleeping in a car in cold weather as an experience to be avoided at all costs. Bjørn, however, is a hardy soul, and he just had to know what it would be like to sleep in his Model X through a frosty Norwegian night. In this new video, he beds down at a Supercharger site on a night when the temperature is a bracing -17° C (10° F).

Bjørn puts the car in Range mode with the Climate Control option set to “on,” and sets the temperature to 21° C (70° F), which most of us would consider nice and warm for a wintertime snooze. He does add a little extra insulation, covering the windows with sunshades. These are actually designed to keep the interior cool in the sun, but any additional material covering the windows will reduce the heat transfer, and these are custom-fitted for Tesla vehicles.

Above: Bjørn braves some chilly temperatures in his Model X (Youtube: Bjørn Nyland)

After a night of pleasant dreams (of electric sheep?), Bjørn wakes up at 8 am, to find that it’s still pitch-black outside, and the mercury is at -16° C. He got up in the night and turned the heat up a degree or so, but stayed reasonably warm. Frost on the inside of the windows shows that the sunshades did indeed help keep the vehicle insulated.

The verdict? Bjørn not only survived, but stayed comfortable enough, without the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning that comes with sleeping in a fossil car.

Above: Bjørn's Model X gets some frostbite (Twitter: @BjornNyland)

How much energy did the Tesla consume running the heater all night? Surprisingly, Bjørn’s average energy consumption was only 1.5 kW, which works out to approximately 4 miles of range per hour. So 8 hours of sub-zero snoozing only cost around 32 miles of range.

Just how powerful is the heater in a Tesla? Bjørn needed to know that too - in another video, he turns his Model X into a sauna.

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Written by: Charles Morris; Source: Bjørn Nyland