A Tesla Model S used as a police car runs out of battery in the middle of a chase

It sounds like a joke, but it is completely true. It happened last Friday, when the Tesla S 85 serving as a patrol car in Fremont, California ran out of battery while chasing an offender. Of course, the bad guy managed to escape, and the officers were left stranded with a problem to solve: establishing a battery recharging protocol for the Tesla Model S so that this does not happen again.

The matter has its origin when the police of this California city included several hybrid models in the fleet, intended for support duties and for commanders. This Tesla Model S 85, which is part of a 6-month trial program evaluating the model’s behavior in daily work, joined these hybrid cars. Last Friday a high-speed chase began, with speeds of up to 190 km/h, but the officer at the wheel realized that the battery charge would only allow him to continue for about 10 more kilometers, so he had to release the accelerator and let the pursued car escape.

His colleagues resumed the chase, but it was too late and they could not catch him. The problem this represents is the lack of foresight regarding the recharging of electric cars, since although there are no reports of similar situations in which the Tesla Model S had to leave service due to a lack of battery charge, according to the Fremont Police Department’s office the car is usually charged after each shift, although for some reason on this occasion it returned to the street without receiving the corresponding recharge.

Apparently there is no electric car recharging protocol; instead, the officer returning from duty simply leaves it charging. In theory, a full charge allows the Tesla S 85 class to remain in service for about 11 hours, and still have 40% battery left. The problem arises when it is not recharged regularly so that it is always operational or, as in this case, when it is required to drive at very high speeds for a long time and this is not taken into account. A car powered by gasoline or diesel is easier to manage, but the lack of experience with this type of vehicle can lead to problems like these.

That said, although it has been a harsh blow to the image of the Fremont Police Department, the department still trusts the Tesla Model S 85 as a patrol car and will establish the recharging protocol it needs. This is something that will need to be established in all companies and institutions to keep these cars, which may be the future but still present problems that must be solved, operational.