Image Credit: Twitter screenshot 
A Tesla owner in California was confused when he got in his car and received a message telling him to avoid charging his electric vehicle during peak hours.
“This bullshit was on the screen of my Tesla yesterday when I got in the car,” reported Twitter user Mike Bolen, attaching a photo of his Tesla’s screen.
This bullshit was on the screen of my Tesla yesterday when I got in the car pic.twitter.com/ioZ3W2p4ig
— Mike Bolen | RE Investor (@mikebolen) September 7, 2022
The screen stated, “The current heat wave is expected to stress California’s grid this weekend. Use the Scheduled Departure setting to ensure your vehicle is charged and preconditioned to your preferences at time of departure, while avoiding charging during higher price evening hours between 4-9PM.”
Over the past few days, California has been impacted by a historic heat wave causing a massive surge in demand for electric power.
California’s electric grid operator told residents earlier this week to conserve energy and keep thermostats at 78 degrees, warning rolling power outages could be forthcoming if demand exceeded the grid’s capacity.
Despite conservation efforts, the blackouts still hit parts of California’s Bay Area, as USA Today reports:
“Parts of Northern California, such as Palo Alto and Alameda, rotated outages in order to meet the state’s requirements but were able to restore power before 8 p.m. Tuesday.”
A viral photo posted to social media purported to show one Tesla owner ironically resorting to charging his car with a gas-powered generator during the energy crisis.
California: You need a gas generator to charge your $120K electric super car because the grid is overloaded
You gotta love the irony. pic.twitter.com/55aVYoNXwt
— New World Odor
(@hugh_mankind) September 6, 2022
You can even take it on the road with you pic.twitter.com/cz3kptHfRE
— Corn pop (@Manlostincrazy) September 7, 2022
The blackouts and energy instability coupled with warnings from both state governments and Tesla are enough to give any electric vehicle owner cause for concern, and California unfortunately has more of these problems to look forward to as it attempts to ban all gas vehicle sales and move to all-electric vehicles by 2035.