Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Relocating to Alaska - any advice?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I'm a Model S owner living in the Midwest soon to be relocating to Anchorage. I'm here to ask other Tesla owners in Alaska if they have any advice or words of caution with regards to owning/driving the S. I have the rear-wheel drive version and what little driving I have done on snow here was unsettling - I felt like I was fishtailing and did not have great control. I was driving on summer tires. I'm considering swapping out my S for a dual motor version thinking I'll get better traction on snow. Any recommendations for winter tires?

Also, I've gotten conflicting information from Tesla about what to do if my car needs servicing. One person told me I'd have to ship the car to Seattle any time I needed service and someone else told me that rangers go to Anchorage periodically. If anyone who's had experience getting the Tesla serviced in Alaska I'd be grateful for whatever you can share.

Thanks!
 
Winter tires perform much, much better in the cold and snow than summer tires. There are several comments from Norwegians with RWD MSs that have had great experiences. Summer tires get too hard and stiff in the cold and have about the worst tread pattern possible for grip in snow. Of course a D will be flawless with the right tires.
 
You should be just fine on snow/ice with the right tires provided it doesn't get too deep. If you don't want studded tires, I would recommend the Nokian Hakkapeliita R2. The studded version is also pretty awesome.

Once, when I was younger and dumber, I tried to drive my Audi A4 Quattro around in the snow.... on Pilot Sport PS2 summer performance tires. I got lucky and managed to stay on the road but I learned a valuable lesson about the need for proper tires in the snow. This is a big, powerful, expensive, performance sedan, spend a little extra money and get the best winter tires you can.

There's a long thread about winter tire selection here.

As for service, just call your local service center and ask, my experience with these guys is that they're so helpful they're probably secret Canadians.
 
When the temperature drops down wear longjohns, buy a good winter parka, mittens are warmer than gloves, and really good mukluks. My mukluks are rated down to -50 degrees Celsius. I wear a toque, when it gets colder I find wearing my parka's hood over top of the toque helps. When it gets down to -22 degrees F I will wear a balaclava, and maybe a sweater underneath my parka.

:biggrin:
 
I have a p85 rwd and while I live in the Seattle area I'm also at a high elevation and have snow most of the winter. I run nokian studs and the car drives amazingly well. It's never once fishtailed or lost traction. I do have air so I'm able to raise up if need be. With the right tyres you should be just fine
 
i found electricity almost everywhere. RV parks where best, followed by auto shops, arc welding shops, etc. Absolute worst case is having to knock on someone's door like you would asking for a cup of sugar (never had to do this...). note fairbanks electricity price is outragous - $0.55 per kwh. anchorage not so bad.

guy
 
Mostly.
The Model X is for Alaska.

But I can tell you where the best places to charge between Whitehorse and either Fairbanks or Anchorage. And we're planning to put in a Destination Charging site at our resort, too.