Fremont Police Tesla Near-Dead Battery Forces Officer Off Pursuit
FREMONT (CBS SF) – A Tesla electric patrol car by the Fremont Police ran low on electricity in the middle of a pursuit, after the department said someone forgot to plug the vehicle into a charger.
According to officials, the officer was pursuing a vehicle headed down to the South Bay when the car began to run low on battery power.
"Just slowed down to six miles of battery on the Tesla, so I may lose it here in a sec," the officer said, according to police radio transmissions. "If someone else is able, can they maneuver into the number one spot?"
Other units took over the pursuit. Police said the chase was called off when it became unsafe, and the suspect vehicle was later found abandoned in San Jose.
"The Tesla wasn't fully charged at the beginning of the shift," a Fremont police spokesperson said. "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."
The Tesla, a used 2014 Model S manufactured at the plant in Fremont, began patrolling the streets earlier this year, as part of a pilot program to help reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions.