Like probably everyone else here, my Model 3 sits for most of the week taking on dirt and using its battery to cool itself. Seems like the keeping dirt off would be basic, but does it make a meaningful difference in keeping the car cool? I don’t have a garage, so it’s either this or nothing.
I used to work at a place in Chino CA where I had to park outside all day. I used a cover, as I found that it did keep the car cooler, at least on the inside during the day. It also did not keep the car from getting dirty, but slowed that process and kept bird crap off. Most important, to me, it blocked UV light damage to the interior of the car, which in SoCal causes cars to deteriorate the fastest.
It will, but you have to be careful with car covers. You should only put them on the car when it is perfectly clean. Otherwise the process of throwing and removing the cover over dirty, sandy, and grimy surface will only scratch the hack out of the paint and glass. Washing the car and protecting it with a car cover may work for periodic mid-/long-term storage, but is impractical for daily use. More info here:
Interesting info, thank you! I think my use case would be wash once very well, put on cover and leave it. With COVID, i literally never drive anywhere. The thing that’s cool about the Tesla branded cover is that it has a hole for the charging part, so that solves periodic charges.
It will help with heat a bit, as well as with UV protection, but don’t discount the other option - turning off cabin overheat protection to avoid wasting ridiculous energy cooling unoccupied spaces.
I have a two layer tent with aluminized covering over both layers. It certainly helped us stay cool on the playa last year. I don't know if such a cover exists for cars. We have a tarp that has the same coating.
Mine doesn't fit like a condom, but it's fast on and fast off. With COVID when I don't drive it every day, an ONR wash and slip the cover on, click the straps and when I do drive it, it glows. With covers that don't have ears for the mirrors, you have to leave a little slack. For charging best lift up the cover rather than risk stripping the charging port's little motor and gearing. But I don't use it every day, so I'm happy it cost all of $50 ... including the red reflective decal
This is exactly what I do. I wash it and cover it. Sometimes it rains lightly and the car stays dry. Some times it rains hard and the entire thing gets soaked, but then later dries and doesn't leave much residue on the car. I will say that in direct sun the car still gets very uniformly hot. It's still protected by UV rays and the paint/glass might not get as hot as when exposed but the entire car is still getting radiated for extended periods of time. I've heard lots of people say you'll get horrible damage to your paint if you're not careful. That seems mostly like hyperbole. Just don't cover the car if it's dirty. It's common sense, you'll get your cover dirty on the inside and it will probably leave visable marks on the car where the cover wiped off the dirt, etc. I have the Tesla cover and think it's worth it for my use case which is that I drive it 1-2 times a week maximum for commuting and more often use it as a weekend trip car. As long as it doesn't rain while I'm on the road I'm good; if it does rain then I usually hold off on the cover until I can wash it again. I've been using it for 12months.