Winter, when you run a Tesla while living in an apartment block, is always a slightly different reality than the warmer months. More charging on the road, higher energy consumption and – as a result – higher costs.
A summary of the last few weeks
Period: 06.02.2026 – 01.03.2026
Distance driven: 1600 km
Average consumption: 20.3 kWh / 100 km
Average energy price: 1.73 PLN / kWh
It was mostly motorway driving. At those speeds and in winter temperatures, consumption of 20.3 kWh/100 km is pretty much normal in practice. Cabin heating, battery heating, colder air – it all has an effect.
In my experience, in winter you simply have to accept that efficiency will be lower than in spring or summer.
Pricier charging in winter
The average price of 1.73 PLN/kWh comes mainly from using fast chargers on the road more often. Living in an apartment block, without my own wallbox, in winter I use the cheaper, slower charging points less often – there just isn't always time for it.
That's one aspect of running an electric car in these conditions – in winter the cost per 100 km clearly goes up.
With this consumption and this energy price, the cost of 100 km came to about:
20.3 kWh × 1.73 PLN ≈ 35 PLN / 100 km
In practice, that's close to driving a combustion car economically.
Surprises on the road
Twice I had a situation where the car started preconditioning the battery for charging (i.e. warming it up before arriving at the station), and when I got there the charger turned out to be out of order.
Unfortunately, these things happen. The charging network in Poland keeps getting better, but it can still be unreliable. The result:
- extra energy used on preconditioning the battery,
- having to change plans,
- driving on to the next station.
I don't treat it as a drama – more as part of real-world use. It's worth having an energy buffer and an alternative station in mind.
What will spring change?
The biggest difference is temperature.
As warmer days return:
- energy consumption will drop,
- intensive battery heating will kick in less often,
- motorway efficiency will improve.
In my experience, the difference between winter and spring can be several kWh per 100 km. That translates directly into a lower cost of driving 100 km.
Summary
Winter with a Tesla in an apartment block means:
- higher energy consumption,
- more frequent use of expensive DC chargers,
- greater sensitivity to infrastructure availability.
But it's just a seasonal phase. Now the warmer weather is coming back, and with it lower consumption and more predictable costs.
This is what real-world use looks like – no idealising, but no exaggerating either. Winter is more expensive. In spring things get lighter again – for the battery too.