<div id="readability-page-1">In Pennsylvania, we got between 10 and 12 inches of snow over the weekend as a nasty Winter storm ripped through a large portion of the country, bringing snow to some areas and nasty ice storms to others. I have had a Model Y Performance for the week courtesy of Tesla, which got the car to me last Monday. Today was my last full day with it before I take it back to my local showroom, and with all the accumulation on it, I decided to run a cool little experiment: How long would it take for Tesla’s Defrost feature to melt 8 inches of snow? <blockquote>Tesla Model Y Performance set for new market entrance in Q1</blockquote> Tesla’s Defrost feature is one of the best and most underrated that the car has in its arsenal. While every car out there has a defrost setting, Tesla’s can be activated through the Smartphone App and is one of the better-performing systems in my opinion. It has come in handy a lot through the Fall and Winter, helping clear up my windshield more efficiently while also clearing up more of the front glass than other cars I’ve owned. The test was simple: don’t touch any of the ice or snow with my ice scraper, and let the car do all the work, no matter how long it took. Of course, it would be quicker to just clear the ice off manually, but I really wanted to see how long it would take. <blockquote>Tesla Model Y heat pump takes on Model S resistive heating in defrosting showdown</blockquote> <h4>Observations</h4> I started this test at around 10:30 a.m. It was still pretty cloudy and cold out, and I knew the latter portion of the test would get some help from the Sun as it was expected to come out around noon, maybe a little bit after. I cranked it up and set my iPhone up on a tripod, and activated the Time Lapse feature in the Camera settings. The rest of the test was sitting and waiting. It didn’t take long to see some difference. In fact, by the 20-minute mark, there was some notable melting of snow and ice along the sides of the windshield near the A Pillar. However, this test was not one that was “efficient” in any manner; it took about three hours and 40 minutes to get the snow to a point where I would feel comfortable driving out in public. In no way would I do this normally; I simply wanted to see how it would do with a massive accumulation of snow. It did well, but in the future, I’ll stick to clearing it off manually and using the Defrost setting for clearing up some ice before the gym in the morning. Check out the video of the test below: <blockquote> How long will it take for the Tesla Model Y Performance to defrost and melt ONE FOOT of snow after a blizzard? Let’s find out: pic.twitter.com/Zmfeveap1x — TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 26, 2026</blockquote> The post Tesla winter weather test: How long does it take to melt 8 inches of snow? appeared first on TESLARATI.</div>

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A recent test in Pennsylvania evaluated how long it takes for the Tesla Model Y Performance's Defrost feature to melt 8 inches of snow. During a winter storm, the car was left to clear the snow without manual intervention. The test revealed that it took approximately three hours and 40 minutes for the snow to melt sufficiently for safe driving. While the Defrost feature performed well, the tester noted that manual clearing would be more efficient in real-life situations.

- A winter storm in Pennsylvania left 10 to 12 inches of snow, prompting an experiment with a Tesla Model Y Performance to test its Defrost feature.  
- The test involved allowing the Defrost system to melt 8 inches of snow over approximately three hours and 40 minutes, showcasing its effectiveness compared to traditional methods.  
- While the system performed well, the author concluded that manual clearing would be preferable for faster results in the future.