Dude stole a Tesla.
RIVERSIDE — A probationer who led Riverside police officers on a dangerous, high-speed pursuit in a luxury electric sports car was arrested after the plug-in car’s batteries died Sunday night, Feb. 17. The pursuit, which wound its way from Riverside’s Eastside neighborhood into Orange County, ended in a felony stop on the 91 Freeway.
Dead batteries.
Riverside police officers were first alerted to the vehicle theft around 7:45 p.m., after the owner of an electric-powered Tesla called 911 to report his car had just been stolen from a parking garage on the 1400 block of Everton Pl.
With an app available to Tesla owners, the victim was able to track his stolen vehicle from his phone, and immediately began providing officers with “real-time” updates of the car’s movements, Riverside PD later explained.
Based on those updates, a responding officer quickly spotted the car as it was exiting the 91 Freeway at Adams St. But as officers prepared to conduct a traffic stop, the driver of the stolen vehicle, later identified as Filiberto Felix, 30-years-old of Riverside, refused to yield and sped away from officers.
Kewl! A green car chase.
Officials initiated a vehicle pursuit that first traveled through the city streets. Felix then got back onto the freeway before once again exiting at Magnolia Ave. The fleeing man continued to lead officers on pursuit as he traveled up La Sierra Ave. to Cajalco Rd., then to the 15 Freeway.
During the chase, Felix drove without regard for the safety of officers or other citizens and the ground pursuit was eventually deemed too dangerous to continue and patrol officers backed out of the chase; allowing the department’s Air Support Unit, “Air-1” to take over.
Felix eventually got onto the westbound 91 freeway and headed into Orange County, where the luxury car’s batteries eventually died, leaving the fleeing man stranded. With his stolen ride’s batteries dead, CHP quickly moved in and conducted a high-risk stop and arrested the car thief. CHP later turned the alleged suspect over to RPD officers.
First off. Why would someone steal a Tesla? Second, I have never understood why anyone would think they could outrun cops. Sure, you can sometimes outrun a cop car, but you can’t outrun a radio or a helicopter. And third to think you could get away in an electric car, even a sports car like a Tesla takes a high level of idiocy. What’s the range of a Tesla? 100 miles? What’s the range of a Tesla going 80 miles an hour? Prolly a lot less. But it is nice to see that this felon was going green by stealing a Tesla.
What a maroon!
I have a Tesla Model 3 and it’s range is 310 miles, but more like 260 at 80 MPH.
I suspect it wasn’t anywhere near fully charged when he took it.
I stand corrected. After you’ve driven 300 miles how long does it take to charge?
The article implies that the car was charging at the time.
Maybe the driver and the writer were both wired and amped up.
Attention Tesla owners ….The Weather Bureau has announced another blast of Arctic Sub Zero Global Warming is going to arrive here in the USA in early march.
Soooooooo….Keep that in mind as you race around in your Tesla at any speed as your mileage is going to be adversely affected.
When you grind to a halt . make sure you are all the way off the road so we Gas Guzzler drivers do not run into you as we motor on down the road.
My new Nissan Titan has a range of 522 miles {18mpg} ……Do not think there is a Tesla in my future.
Hmmm so with an electric car the faster you go the less your mileage. Yet with my gas burning beast I get more miles to the gallon at 80 than I do at 55 now go figure.
Apparently, this is not the first felony for Fillaburrito: https://www.localcrimenews.com/welcome/detail/34645633/no
Almost as bad as the African felons in Atlanta.
No doubt this is not the genus first felony…or second….or third….or…oh well, you get it. So the Kookafornia legal system is really going to throw the book at him this time with two, yes two firm warnings not to do this again before releasing him to steal a car in the courthouse parking lot. Hopefully the judge’s.
Actually, the most common helicopters, like the Bell 206, have a top speed below many sports cars. A corvette could outrun one. The Tesla, probably not.
But they can’t outrun the radio. Plus the choppers can fly straight while the car has to follow the road.
Why do not people understand this?
I met a guy who was injured in a high speed chase. Paralyzed from the waist down. I asked him that question. His answer? I was young and stupid. He was also a Georgia redneck who became old and stupid. You can’t fix stupid. He’s dead now. Died in his 50’s.
Wouldn’t the appropriate punishment be to hook the charging cable up to his ears and plug his johnson into the car? Hope it takes a few hours to charge.
Either that or, strap his ass back in with that lithium battery Tesla, and wait?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2019/02/25/tesla-driver-dies-in-fiery-florida-crash–and-cars-battery-still-burns-a-day-later/#57796c492c05
I dunno… I don’t write the shit, I just disturb it.
Somehow I do not think if Nikola Tesla were alive today he would accept this piece of shit car to bear his name.
He must’ve spent too much time watching Smokey & the Bandit.