High-Speed Chase Ends Badly for Tesla Police Cruiser Running on Low Battery

© AFP 2023 / JOSH EDELSONAn American flag is reflected in the grill of a Tesla Model S
An American flag is reflected in the grill of a Tesla Model S - Sputnik International
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The last thing that Officer Jesse Hartman expected to receive during a high-speed police chase last week was a warning from his Tesla cruiser that the vehicle was just six miles from losing all power. Unfortunate for Hartman, that was the card he was dealt.

Hartman, employed with California’s Fremont Police Department, found himself reaching top speeds of 120 miles per hour on Friday, all while winding through Interstate 680 in an effort to keep pace with a suspect wanted by law enforcement officials.

During the pursuit, Hartman received a notification from the department’s Tesla Model S that it was running low on power and needed to juice up - an alert that subsequently prompted the officer to inform dispatch that he wasn’t going to be able to continue on with the chase. 

“I am down to six miles of battery on the Tesla, so I may lose it here in a sec,” Hartman was heard saying in dispatch recordings obtained by local news outlet East Bay Times. “If someone else is able, can they maneuver into the number one spot?”

However, before another officer could take over for Hartman, the chase was called off as a result of the wanted individual driving in the shoulder lanes after coming upon heavy highway traffic.

The “felony vehicle” being pursued by police was eventually found by the California Highway Patrol. Geneva Bosques, a spokesperson for the Fremont Police, told the Times that the vehicle was crashed into bushes, and that the driver was not found with the car. She further noted that the felony warrant linked to the vehicle was filed by the neighboring Santa Clara Police Department.

As for Hartman, he wound up finding a charging station in nearby San Jose for his Tesla cruiser. 

Local media reports indicate that Hartman ended up running low on battery simply because the officer who used the cruiser before him failed to power up the electric car at the end of their shift.

“The Tesla wasn’t fully charged at the beginning of the shift,” a Fremont Police spokesperson told local news station CBS San Francisco. “This unfortunately happens from time to time even in our vehicles that run on gas, if they aren’t re-fueled at the end of a shift.”

Local media reports that the Fremont police’s 2014 Tesla model began roaming the streets earlier this year as part of the agency’s pilot program to determine whether or not an electric car is appropriate for the force.

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