Over six million people fled their homes in Florida over the past few days, as the dire threat of Hurricane Irma bore down upon them.
However, as well as dealing with gridlocked highways, many Floridians’ plans were disrupted by gas shortages across the lower parts of the Sunshine State.
Thankfully, Elon Musk had an assist for those with the luxury of a Tesla Motors car, who were free from the requirement for gas, yet faced the woe of running out of power with no way to replenish.
The firm was able to flick a switch to remotely extend the range of some vehicles, making it easier for drivers and their families to flee Irma’s wrath (via Ars Technica).
The over the air software update for Model S and Model X extended the 60kWh batteries to their 75kWh capacities.
Free upgrade… for now
Tesla usually charges drivers $9,000 for that privilege, but waived the fee to give customers temporary use of the feature.
That enabled them to travel up to 40 miles farther before the battery required recharging.
The next dilemma for Tesla owners in the state is finding a way to recharge their cars to get home.
Much of the state remains without power following the hurricane, which reached Category 4 speeds in some parts of the Florida Keys and the western shoreline.
In case you were wondering, yes I am ok.
Would the threat of power outages affect your decision to buy an electric vehicle? Share your thoughts @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
