--- title: "Tesla Police Car Runs Out of Battery During High Speed Chase" description: "A Fremont police officer had to cut a high-speed highway pursuit short after his modified Tesla Model S cop car's batteries ran down." date: "2019-09-26" modified: "2019-09-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-police-car-low-batteries" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "model s" - "police" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Police Car Runs Out of Battery During High Speed Chase ![A Fremont police officer had to cut a high-speed highway pursuit short after his modified Tesla Model S cop car's batteries ran down.]() *\Image: Fremont Police/Victor Tangermann\* ## Hot Pursuit Cops in Fremont, California just learned an important lesson. [According to *CBS San Francisco*](), a Fremont police officer had to cut a high-speed highway pursuit short after his modified Tesla Model S cop car's batteries ran down. "The Tesla wasn’t fully charged at the beginning of the shift," a Fremont police spokesperson told the station. "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." ## Six Mile The hot pursuit had to be called off anyway when the situation became too unsafe. [According to reports](), the chase reached speeds of about 120 mph. The suspect vehicle was found later after it was abandoned in San Jose. "I am down to six miles of battery on the Tesla so I may lose it here in a sec," Officer Jesse Hartman said when radioing in during his chase, [according to the *East Bay Times*](). "I’ve got to try to find a charging station for the Tesla so I can make it back to the city." ## Test Run The vehicle is part of a test to see if electric vehicles are suitable for police use. It was bought in 2018 for[ just shy of $61,000](). Fortunately, battery issues aren't usually a problem. "We are easily able to make it through an 11-hour shift with battery power to spare," Fremont Police Captain Sean Washington told the *East Bay Times*. **READ MORE:** [A Tesla police cruiser ran out of battery during a high-speed pursuit because someone forgot to charge it]() \[*Business Insider*\] **More on the vehicle:** *[This Police Department’s New Cop Car is a Tesla]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()