A Tesla Model S police cruiser ran out of battery in the middle of a high-speed pursuit, the Fremont, California police department has confirmed.

Fremont officer Jesse Hartman radioed in that he was chasing down a “felony vehicle” but that his Model S cop car showed just six miles (10 km) of range before the battery would be empty, reports The Mercury News.

Hartman asked his dispatch to have another unit take over as pursuit lead after suggesting “I may lose it here in a second”; other gas-powered cars picked up the chase only to drop it shortly after due to the suspect’s driving getting way too reckless. The Tesla, meanwhile, had to recharge in San Jose before heading back to the station.

The department told Roadshow “it’s unclear why the Tesla wasn’t charged that particular day,” and noted the car had been through roughly two full shifts when the chase commenced at 11 p.m. on September 20.

Though this was only the EV police car’s second pursuit, a representative for Fremont PD said it “performed well,” and that they’re overall thrilled with the Tesla as a cruiser.

Even gas-powered police cars have run out of fuel on the job, the representative noted, and other units were able to pick up this particular chase anyway before terminating it.

While the car usually comes back with 40 per cent or 50 per cent of its battery range remaining, perhaps this will work as a lesson to remind them to always top it off at the end of every shift.