Tesla Model S P90D 43

Hollis Johnson





A woman in Arizona stole a Tesla vehicle on Sunday but failed to get away with it after the vehicle ran out of battery, the Payson Roundup newspaper reported Tuesday.

Chief Ron Tischer of the Payson Police Department told Business Insider that the vehicle was a Model S sedan.

Once the vehicle ran out of battery, authorities broke open one of its windows to remove the suspect, according to The Roundup.

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A woman in Arizona stole a Tesla vehicle Sunday but failed to get away with it after the vehicle ran out of battery, the Payson Roundup newspaper reported Tuesday.

Chief Ron Tischer of the Payson Police Department told Business Insider that the vehicle was a Model S sedan.

Tischer told The Roundup that authorities were unable to stop the vehicle by using spike strips, which are designed to puncture a vehicle's tires.

Once the vehicle ran out of battery, authorities had to break one of its windows to remove the suspect, he added.

Read more: A Tesla Model S or Model X is way less likely to get stolen than a Chevy Silverado or Mercedes-Benz S-Class

The suspect was arrested on charges of theft, criminal damage, failing to yield to law-enforcement vehicles, aggravated driving under the influence, and two counts of failing to appear in court for an arrest warrant, The Roundup said.

On August 1, the Highway Loss Data Institute released lists of the vehicles it found were the most and least likely to be stolen, based on insurance-claim data for vehicles from the model years 2016 through 2018.

Tesla's Model S sedan and Model X SUV had the second- and third-lowest theft rates, respectively, after the BMW 3-Series sedan.

According to the institute, the low theft rates for the Model S and the Model X may have resulted in part from the fact that electric vehicles tend to be parked in or near a garage so they can be charged.

Electric vehicles are generally less likely to be stolen than gas-powered vehicles, the institute said.

Story continues

Read the Payson Roundup's full story here »

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