California police officer forced to abandon chase after Tesla patrol vehicle runs low on battery

A Tesla electric patrol car fizzled out on an officer in the middle of a police chase in Fremont, California, last week, when a low battery caused the officer to drop his pursuit.

What are the details?

"I am down to six miles of battery on the Tesla, so I may lose it here in a sec," the officer can be heard telling dispatch, according to police radio transmissions obtained by KPIX-TV. "If someone else is able, can they maneuver into the number one spot?"

Other patrol officers were able to jump in and continue chase on the suspect, but ultimately abandoned their pursuit after the situation became dangerous when the suspect began driving erratically. CNN reported that the suspect's car was later found abandoned in San Jose.

A spokesperson explained to KPIX, "The Tesla wasn't fully charged at the beginning of the shift. This, unfortunately, happens from time to time, even in our vehicles that run on gas, if they aren't refueled at the end of a shift."

The Fremont Police Department is taking part in a six-month pilot program, testing out the using of 2014 Tesla model S 85 vehicles, according to Fox News, "as part of Fremont's push to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from its 2005 baseline by 2020."

According to the department, the incident with the Tesla running low on battery has not had an impact on how they view the performance of the electric vehicles for use by their officers.

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