Cold vs Warm Charging | Which LFP Battery Will Charge Faster?
You might be wasting unnecessary time at a Tesla Supercharger if you plug in while your battery is still cold. But how much time exactly? That is what we set out to discover by conducting a charging test at a 200 kW station, comparing our 2026 RWD Tesla Model Y against a RWD Model 3 Highland.
Both vehicles are equipped with similar LFP battery packs, each offering 60 kWh of usable capacity. The key difference during the test was battery temperature: the Model 3 Highland’s battery was preheated, while the Model Y’s battery remained cold.
If you want to see exactly what happened during the test, make sure to check out the video below.
Test Design
As mentioned earlier, the test took place at a 200 kW charging station. Both cars took turns charging from 12% to 80% state of charge (SOC) while we timed the sessions and monitored metrics such as charging speed and battery temperature using our advanced instrument cluster, the S3XY Dash.
By the way, we are currently running a giveaway where you can win the Dash absolutely FREE. Here’s how to participate:
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Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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Comment the word “Dash” along with your Tesla model under the video linked here.
We began the test with the Highland, whose battery had been preheated to 40°C using our Remote Battery Preheating feature. This function allows you to warm the battery without navigating to a Supercharger, and you can even set a custom target temperature. You can activate it while relaxing at home. Learn more about it here.
Meanwhile, we kept the Model Y’s battery temperature cold at 10°C.
Model 3 Test
Starting Stats
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SOC: 12%
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Battery Temperature: 40°C
Final Stats
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SOC: 80%
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Battery Temperature: 46°C
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Time: 27 minutes and 10 seconds
One of the first observations was that the car did not charge at the advertised 175 kW peak speed. During the first minute, the station delivered 151.2 kW, while the car was accepting only about 142 kW. Additionally, the battery temperature continued to rise beyond 50°C, indicating that part of the incoming energy was being used to further warm the battery. At a certain point, the cooling system activated to protect it from overheating.
As expected, charging speed tapered significantly toward the end of the session, dropping to around 50 kW.
Model Y Test
Starting Stats
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SOC: 12%
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Battery Temperature: 11°C
Final Stats
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SOC: 80%
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Battery Temperature: 16°C
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Time: 32 minutes and 18 seconds
When we first plugged the Model Y in, it was pulling only 47 kW during the first minute. By the 6-minute mark, the battery temperature had risen to 16°C, yet the vehicle was still accepting just 51 kW.
The reason is that a significant portion of the incoming energy was being used to warm the battery. This is necessary because, inside a cold battery, the electrochemical reactions slow down due to increased internal resistance. That resistance prevents the battery from accepting large amounts of energy quickly, protecting it from potential damage. As a result, charging efficiency remains low until the battery reaches an optimal temperature.
This behavior became even clearer around the 16-minute mark, when the battery temperature climbed to approximately 32°C and charging speed finally exceeded 100 kW.
An interesting phenomenon occurred near 79% SOC, where the car was still accepting around 70 kW - higher than one might expect at that state of charge.
Conclusion
What this test clearly shows is that if you want to spend less time at the charging station, you should preheat your Tesla’s battery in advance to a temperature between 30°C and 40°C.
Worrying about the additional energy consumption during preconditioning is largely unnecessary. That energy will be used one way or another - either before you arrive at the charger or while the car is plugged in and slowly warming the battery instead of charging at full speed.
That’s why, if you want to minimize time spent charging - especially during long road trips - it makes sense to warm the battery in advance.
