Officer In Tesla Model S Calls Off Police Chase Due To Low Battery

The San-francisco police department has been using a Tesla Model S as a patrol car as a pilot program. This past week, the officer in charge of the Tesla was engaged in a 10-mile pursuit with a non electric vehicle. The officer then radioed dispatch letting them know that the Tesla had about 6 miles worth of range left on it’s electric battery and that he may not be able to continue the chase. 

The officer had admitted to not having it fully charged at the beginning of his shift which led to the chase being called off. There was no mention of what car he was chasing but let’s assume, whether it was electric or not, the perp was better prepared for the chase. 

 

This will lead to a plethora of questions from the public. Are Tesla’s not reliable to use for a patrol car? Was it user error or a design flaw? Does all the extra police gear drain the battery or does it run off a different power source? Would this have happened if he was driving a petrol patrol car? Is this being blown up and over analyzed? Probably. We all know a large disadvantage of electric vehicles is the range and turnaround time it takes to charge them.

In a world where everything is over scrutinized, this poor officer is the latest victim to be judged. How many times have you forgotten to fuel up and were late to and or missed something important? Obviously, since failing to pursue a criminal is a tad bit more serious than being late to work, it has made headlines. At the end of the day, they did find the car, abandoned. 

It’s only a matter of time before all cars will be electric so in the future there will be an even playing field. As for the present, Officer McBatteries needs to make sure that his Tesla is fully charged before hitting the road.