Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do … when the Tesla chasing you has to stop and recharge before getting back to going after you?
No, those aren’t the lyrics to a horrible Cops reboot but rather a troubling issue encountered by a member of the Fremont police department. As the name suggests, the town is home to Tesla’s Fremont factory and the local police force uses a Model S as a sign of support.
While this typically wouldn’t be too interesting, the Mercury News uncovered a rather embarrassing police chase gone wrong. According to the paper, an officer was involved in a high-speed pursuit on Friday and hit speeds of around 120 mph (193 km/h).
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The Tesla was the lead vehicle in the pursuit, but officer Jesse Hartman soon discovered he had just 6 miles (9.6 km) of range remaining. Hartman called for assistance and asked for someone to take over for him.
However, the chase was called off shortly thereafter as traffic was picking up and the fleeing driver started traveling on the shoulder. This increased the danger to an uncomfortable level and the department decided to end the pursuit in the name of safety.
Despite this, Hartman radioed in that “I’ve got to try to find a charging station for the Tesla so I can make it back to the city.” A spokesperson for the department, Geneva Bosques, said he was eventually able to find a charger. She also revealed the problem was someone apparently forgot to charge the car after the previous shift ended.
The issue didn’t have any impact on the chase, as other officers could have taken over for Hartman, but it does highlight one of the potential issues of using electric vehicles as police cars. That being said, the situation appears to be a fluke as Capt. Sean Washington has previously said the Model S typically has a 40-50 percent charge remaining after a shift and “We are easily able to make it through an 11-hour shift with battery power to spare.”
As for the suspect, they later crashed their car and managed to escape.
H/T to Roadshow