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Tesla is giving a boost to customers in the path of Hurricane Irma.
What a doozy!
Irma is totally out of control and making life hell for people in Florida, Cuba and The Bahamas.
Over 6 million people were within mandatory evacuation zones, which likely makes this the largest evacuation in U.S. history.
Luckily for those who own a Telsa in Florida, the tech giant has pushed out a temporary firmware update to all cars within the danger zone allowing them to escape the storm.
Essentially drivers who are attempting to leave Florida or another evacuation zone are now able to travel up to 65 extra kilometres (40 miles) before they need to stop and recharge.
Tesla owners in the Florida area who own a 60 kWh Model S or Model X received a notification this morning that their current battery had been boosted to 75 kWh charging capacity!
The intended result is that these Telsa owners are able to travel just that extra bit further and escape the impending hurricane, Irma.
This could well be the edge they’ll need!
Tesla said it decided to temporarily extend the feature for free after one Irma evacuee requested it — the free upgrade will last until September 16.
Despite the good-will intended by Telsa, sceptics are still quick to point out that the weak point of electric cars still appears to be the charging system.
Despite the fact that Supercharging can charge a Telsa much faster than any at-home charger, it’s still gonna take well over an hour for most Tesla owners to fill up and get outta dodge…
According to thedrive.com, it can take the same time to charge a Model S from empty at a supercharger as it does to fill the tanks of 86 petrol-powered cars. Woah.
More problematic still, in an emergency situation like this, it’s no doubt going to be tough for drivers to get through already congested supercharging stations and traffic jams.
BUT hopefully, this 15kWh increase in battery capacity will last throughout any traffic jams drivers will be forced to endure, and help get them to safety.
Tesla clearly sees the importance of helping citizens escape Hurricane Irma, and I applaud them for stepping in to help out in this unexpected way.
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What are your thoughts on this move by Tesla? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by,
Marshy
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