On October 20, I was charging my Tesla at a Supercharger when I noticed the new Emergency Drive Away feature. Out of curiosity, I decided to test it while the charging cable was still connected.
As soon as I activated it, the Supercharger immediately stopped delivering power. I shifted back into Park, but the “Emergency Drive Away has been activated” warning stayed on the screen and wouldn’t go away.
I scheduled a Tesla Service appointment for October 27. However, I mistakenly thought it was two days later and showed up early. The service advisor hadn’t seen this issue before and tried clearing the warning through Service Mode, but it didn’t work. I’d also tried that myself without success.
Today, October 27, I returned for my actual appointment. Surprisingly, the same advisor helped me again! He consulted his supervisor and checked Tesla’s internal documentation to find a solution.
I also showed him a Reddit post from another owner who had experienced the same issue.
A technician asked me about what had happened, inspected my vehicle, ran several checks, and even charged my car during the process. Everything checked out fine, and the warning was successfully cleared.
Initially, I was told there would be a diagnostic fee, which I was fine with. However, the technician later told me I wouldn’t have to pay anything! This was a pleasant surprise, especially since I’d seen another Reddit user who was charged around $33 for the same issue.
I especially want to thank smansoir, the service advisor at the San Francisco Tesla Service Center, and the technician who worked on my car. They were incredibly helpful and took the time to investigate an issue they hadn’t encountered before. I really appreciate their patience, professionalism, and willingness to help!
One more interesting detail: The day after I activated Emergency Drive Away, I returned to the same Supercharger station and found that the exact stall I’d used was marked “Out of Service.”
I’m confident this was caused by activating Emergency Drive Away. The charging session stopped immediately, and the stall was subsequently taken offline pending inspection by Tesla’s Supercharger team. Whether any actual hardware damage occurred is still unknown.
My takeaway: If you encounter this warning, Service Mode alone may not clear it. Tesla Service may need to inspect the vehicle and follow a specific procedure. Fortunately, my car had no issues, and the entire service was free.
Hopefully this helps anyone experiencing the same problem!