Tesla adds an emergency drive-away feature that works while plugged in
After a fatal shooting at an Idaho charging station, Tesla now lets drivers shift into drive while still plugged in; misuse penalties are undisclosed.
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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.