New emergency feature: Teslas are now moving even with a charging cable plugged in
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Automobiles
New emergency feature: Teslas are now moving even with a charging cable plugged in
Tesla has introduced a new feature called “Emergency Drive Away” for its electric vehicles, which allows drivers to start the car even with a charging cable plugged in. This is designed to enable people to quickly escape from a charging station in life-threatening emergency situations.
Image: Daniel Bönnighausen
By Cora Werwitzke
10/02/2026 - 3:00 PM
- [Tesla](https://www.electrive.net/tag/tesla/ "Tesla")
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According to U.S. media, the background for this change is a fatal shooting incident two months ago, in which the perpetrator also aimed at people inside Teslas at a charging station. The manufacturer states that this new feature is intended solely for emergency use. Activating “Emergency Drive Away” and driving away with the cable still connected can cause damage — “to your vehicle and to the Supercharger,” Tesla emphasizes. Intentional misuse will therefore result in penalties, though Tesla does not specify what those are.
Currently, the software prevents switching to a driving mode as long as the car is physically connected to a Supercharger. Drivers can only exit park mode after unlocking the charging port via the touchscreen, app, or directly at the charger. With the new feature, drivers can now switch to drive mode even while charging. This activates “Emergency Drive Away” on the screen, allowing the car to start moving with a single button press.
The prerequisite for this new feature is the software update 2026.38.3. It is certain that this system will be introduced in the United States. Whether an international rollout is planned remains unclear. Tesla itself announced on “X” that the feature will initially be limited to the U.S. market.
x.com via futurezone.at, teslamag.de, electrek.co
Keywords
- Tesla
- USA
- Supercharger
- Charging stations
- Model 3
- Model Y
4 comments
on “New emergency feature: Teslas now move even with a charging cable plugged in”
Torsten
10/02/2026 at 16:11
A quite sensible feature that, in my opinion (independent of the aforementioned incident), should be included as a safety feature in every electric car. Technically, it should be possible for the car to release the locks and allow driving away once shifted to “D” and confirmed. I experienced a situation myself during the summer when heavy hail suddenly started falling. Neither the charging station nor the app could be used immediately to stop charging, so I had no choice but to sit in the car and endure the hail hitting me and the vehicle. With the resulting damage, I really wanted to get myself and the car out of that area and away from the incoming mudflows. Unfortunately, the wire for emergency exit in the car is also hard to reach quickly due to luggage.
Answers
Samuel
10/02/2026 at 18:25
In 2023, I passed by an Ora Funky Cat that was left unattended at night in front of an EnBW charging station. Apparently, the Ora had started driving with the charging cable still plugged in. The charger plug along with the cable, at its full length, was still firmly inserted into the Ora. At the hypercharger (HYC300), the cable had been torn off up to the connector. The charging station was back in operation after about two weeks. Was this a bug in the Ora Funky Cat or a feature?
Answers
Timothy
10/02/2026 at 18:34
If Tesla is reading this, here’s another suggestion: Make it possible to set the driver door unlocking mode through the Tesla app. This way, all doors would unlock “in everyday use,” but when approaching a car in a dark parking lot, I’d like to be able to instantly switch to the driver door unlocking mode via the app.
Answers
Ekkehard_F
10/02/2026 at 18:37
With a nose charger (e-Niro, Leaf, Kona, Zoe), it should work even without major damage, but with cables plugged in horizontally across the car, something will definitely get broken. My e-Niro can be prompted to stop charging by lowering the DC charging limit. It also doesn’t take longer than overriding such a safety feature with triple confirmation. Of course, this alone won’t help in case of an accident.
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