It may seem virtually impossible, if you’re to listen to all the Tesla fans out there, but even a Model 3 can run out of battery when you least expect it. That’s what happened to one unlucky owner who found himself somewhere in the middle of nowhere, at freezing temperatures, with zero charge left and no phone signal. What do you do in such situations? Well, luckily, the guys from Out of Spec Studios were around, testing the BMW X5 xDrive45e and they gave him a hand.
What they did was rather interesting too. The X5 was hooked up to the Model 3 and they started towing the electric car, in an attempt at recharging it by using its regenerative brakes. What’s even more interesting is that, at first, they used the electric mode on the X5 to do that. To be more precise, the plug-in hybrid X5 has an electric motor good for some 113 horsepower on board, that was in charge of not only carrying the mid-size X5 but also towing the Tesla Model 3 in the process.
Unfortunately, by the time the X5 rolled by the Model 3, the battery charge level was already under 50 percent. Therefore, the guys couldn’t keep going on electricity alone for too long. However, the xDrive45e model does come with a big 3.0 liter straight-six engine under the hood and once that kicked in, everything got sorted. What’s even more impressive is that their plan to recharge the Tesla while being towed actually worked.
In just 4.5 miles, the battery indicator on the Model 3 showed 9 percent and it seemed perfect for what they needed. That’s because the 9 percent battery charge should be enough to get the Tesla to a charger. A little math says that by towing the car, the guys fed enough energy into its battery over 3.5 miles to keep it going for over 25 miles. That’s might impressive. Of course, it would be preferable to make sure you don’t run out of juice while on the road, but if you do, it’s nice to see you can do this with a little help from some other motorist.
