There are +'s & -'s to every type of battery.
Like 1minute I have lithiums in my travel trailer. Three Lithionic batteries give a combined capacity of 390 AH and have the advantages of long life, fast charging , high storage capacity and a much lower weight than standard wet cells or AGM's. Another major advantage of the Lithiums is the ability to take them down to 15% as opposed to a minimum of 50% on AGM's with no degrading of the battery ... a major plus. Downsides include cost up front, the need to keep battery temp above 32 degrees when charging and the need to modify your vehicle charging system with the addition of an DC/DC charger fed by your vehicle alternator which must typically have larger wires than standard 7-pin connectors provided.
As far as the minimum charging temp of 32 degrees goes, many Lithium batteries have built in heaters or, in the case of my battery, a heating pad under the batteries which is smart enough to turn itself on when the temp drops. I do not have a Tesla but have a good friend who has one and he indicates they have a battery heating system on board which will bring the batteries up to temp before you put a charger to it. Part of the protocol is to see your battery is up to temp before you put it to bed for the night, assuming no AC power plugin, so that you do not take an empty battery to the charger cold.
When parked my Lithiums are kept charged by rooftop solar panel on the trailer and, when possible, 110 from the house. Even in the cloudy north side of the Olympic Penninsula where I live, the panels keep up with the storage draw with no problem. I watch the battery temp through an app during cold weather and the coldest I have seen them is 43 degrees this last week with temps hanging in the low teens to mid 20's ... when the batteries hit 43 degrees they held there, a result I am sure of the heating pad turning itself on. I am three years into the ownership of my batteries and have become a huge fan despite the manageable downsides.
At this point I cannot haul my rig any distance with a any affordable EV I am aware of but I am quite sure that in the coming decades the issues will very likely be addressed. Lithiums batteries are not perfect but they or some other storage technology will continue to become a more and more valuable tool in the kit.
Last edited by outahere; 01/16/24.
