Tesla has introduced a new Emergency Drive Away feature designed to help drivers quickly escape a dangerous situation at a Supercharger without first unplugging their vehicles.
Tesla Addresses Emergency Supercharger Situations
Charging a Tesla can become tense as more drivers line up at Supercharger locations. Multiple reports have described arguments over who arrived first, with some disputes escalating into physical altercations or worse.
Two highly publicized shootings have occurred around Tesla Superchargers. In 2023, an argument between two men turned into a fatal shooting incident.
More recently, two innocent bystanders charging their Teslas were shot during a mass shooting attack in Idaho. One person was killed and the other was severely injured. One reason they were unable to escape was that their vehicles were still plugged into the charging stations.
How Tesla Emergency Drive Away Works
Tesla announced the Emergency Drive Away feature on its official X account after recognizing the danger posed by unforeseen emergency situations.
One of the victims of the recent shooting said he tried to shift his Tesla into Drive so he could flee the scene, but was unable to do so. The new feature is designed to address that situation by allowing the vehicle to shift into Drive and break free from the charging station.
If a driver needs to leave quickly without unplugging the vehicle, they can shift the car into Drive. A warning message will then appear on the screen, serving as a final confirmation before the Emergency Drive Away feature is activated.
In Tesla’s official demonstration video, a piece of the charging connector can be seen breaking off as the vehicle drives away. Tesla warns that using Emergency Drive Away will damage both the vehicle and the Supercharger.
Tesla also said misuse of the feature could result in additional penalties.
Tesla Emergency Drive Away Availability
Tesla is currently rolling out Emergency Drive Away through its Over-the-Air (OTA) system. The feature requires the vehicle to be running at least software version 2026.38.3.
The feature will not work on pre-2021 Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles. For now, Emergency Drive Away is available only in the U.S.
