Speaking of poor timing. A Tesla police-car from the Fremont police in California had to let the target go in full pursuit on Friday because the car’s battery was almost empty. The department remains completely behind the current pilot project with the electrically powered Teslas.
Fremont police in the San Francisco Bay Area was chasing a suspect who was wanted for a crime in Santa Clara, California.
Both cars reached speeds of more than 190 km/h when the policeman behind the wheel announced on the radio that his Tesla only had energy for 9 kilometers.
He asked if any of the colleagues behind him could take over, because he would have to release the role himself.
The Tesla Model S 85 from 2014 was apparently not fully charged.
“That happens sometimes, especially when an agent returns to the office to make a report and then doesn’t take to the streets again,” explained Geneva Bosques, spokeswoman to CNN.
“The general guideline is that the car’s battery should be at least half full at the start of the shift, and that was the case.”
Other police cars kept chasing the suspect for a while but stopped after more than eight minutes because it became too dangerous.
The car, which had been chased from Fremont, was soon found in San Jose, the place where the Tesla had to refuel in order to get back to Fremont’s home base.
