Two suspects accused of stealing at least $8,000 in a heist of consumer goods were foiled by the Tesla Supercharging network, of all things.
Gwinnett County Police in Georgia were called to investigate a theft at a Sam’s Club that included gaming systems, electric toothbrushes, and more.
The two suspects fled in a Tesla Model X and needed to grab some additional range, so they stopped off at a local Supercharger.
The Police Department said to Insider that the suspects were about 9.9 miles, or 16 minutes, away from the Sam’s Club that they had just robbed, charging their all-electric vehicle as it needed more range. The description of the car, an electric Tesla, was given to local officers, who checked surrounding locations to see if they could locate the vehicle, and ultimately they did.
It was located at the Tesla Supercharger in Duluth, Georgia.
Tesla Superchargers are amongst the fastest in the world, and their infrastructure is already the most robust globally. However, like grabbing gas, it takes time, and it seems these thefts were performed by those who were unprepared to do the most critical part of a heist: flee.
The need for range ultimately foiled the plans of those involved, and they were arrested.
It is not the first occurrence of EV range foiling a plan to commit crimes. In 2019, a Model S that was stolen by a woman in Arizona ran had been completely void of range, and police had no issue tracking her down and arresting her.
Teslas have been utilized by design to solve crimes thanks to Sentry Mode, which has helped capture everything from vandals keying vehicles to accidents, which have helped police determine liability.
In 2020, a Tesla owner who was carjacked locked the culprit in the vehicle with their iPhone, helping police bring that suspect into custody.
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