Tesla adds an emergency drive-away feature that works while plugged in

Tesla has released an "Emergency Drive Away" feature that lets the car shift into drive while the charging cable is still connected. Until now, a Tesla would not shift out of park when a cable was detected.

The feature arrives via over-the-air update: the driver shifts into drive and taps an "Activate" button, and the charging handle breaks off. Tesla said on X that using it will damage the vehicle and the Supercharger, and that deliberate misuse will invoke additional penalties — but the company did not say what those penalties are.

The rollout follows a shooting in Twin Falls, Idaho, two months earlier that left three people dead, one of them inside a Tesla at a charging station. Max de Zegher, Tesla's senior director of charging in North America, called it a feature "we hope you never need," saying the team went back and forth on it for years.