• Emergency Drive Away, a new safety feature from Tesla, allows drivers to break away from Superchargers without manually disconnecting from the charging port.
  
• Tesla says the feature should only be used in emergencies and that it will cause significant damage to the vehicle and the Supercharger.
  
• The override only applies to U.S. Superchargers and requires the latest software update.

In August, Tesla users were among those killed and injured during a shooting at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho. Three of the 10 total victims were sitting inside Tesla vehicles while charging at Supercharger stations in the parking lot. Two months later, Tesla is releasing a new safety feature to ensure drivers have a way out if an emergency occurs at or near a Supercharger.

Teslas are barred from shifting into drive at charging stations until the driver manually disconnects the charger from the port. Historically, there has been no way to override the lock unless drivers purchased a third-party adapter that bypassed the feature. Tesla has repeatedly warned that the adapter could overheat and damage the car and charger, but many owners recommended it in online forums following the shooting.

Now, Emergency Drive Away—available via an over-the-air update—removes the need for the adapter and offers a native way to override the charging lock for peace of mind while charging. The EVs will now be able to shift into drive and pull away while connected to a charger. Once in drive, a warning screen will pop up with the option to enable Emergency Drive Away. Initiating the feature requires drivers to hold the brake pedal and tap “Activate” within the pop-up panel.

A demonstration video from the Tesla Charging X account shows that this is for emergency use only. As the vehicle pulls away, the charger breaks from the port, sending a few pieces flying and snapping the cord back quite aggressively. Tesla warns that this will damage the vehicle and the charging station, and says that intentional misuse will “invoke additional penalties,” though it’s unclear what those will look like. In a reply to an X comment, the Tesla Charging account said repair costs could reach up to $25,000, depending on the Supercharger.

Tesla owners will need the latest software update to get Emergency Drive Away, and pre-2021 Model S and Model X vehicles are not supported. Tesla says the update will only work on U.S. Superchargers for now, but that it may expand its reach in the future.