‘No excuse’, say irate shoppers as Tesla car runs out of battery, blocks car park in London mall for 3 hours

A shopper named Henry took it to popular social media site Reddit, to complain of the incident.

Several irritated shoppers took it to social media after a Tesla car had reportedly ran out of battery and blocked the entry ramp of a car parking at Westfield shopping centre, one of London’s largest shopping centres. The incident, in which the movement of cars behind it was blocked for close to three hours, drew major criticism from several people on the internet.

The movement of cars was blocked for close to three hours at the parking ramp at the Westfield shopping centre in London. (Image posted by Reddit user henrylondon1988)

A shopper named Henry took it to popular social media site Reddit, to complain of the incident and some Redditors commenting under the post said that it was the Tesla owner’s fault, while some others blamed the mall administration.

“Perfect, a Tesla ran out of battery and stopped at the ramp of a 5 storey car park at Westfield. It has been three hours and counting,” the original poster (u/henrylondon1988) wrote. Along with the post, the user also shared a picture of the car in which the battery had drained and the several other cars queueing behind it.

“I know range anxiety is a thing, but there is no excuse for this,” one user commented. “Considering the huge range these cars have, there’s really no excuse for this,” said another. “Westfield even has a large capacity Tesla charging station,” one user pointed out.

Meanwhile, one user questioned the management over the incident and wrote, “3 hours and the Westfield management couldn't find a means to tow it off the ramp? Its in their interest to keep traffic flowing.” However, the original poster later said that the car was completely dead and the cars behind it had to reverse their way out of the ramp. “The Tesla is completely dead and it is in parking mode. The management team rumbling about their solution and basically there is nothing they can do. At the end, all the car reversed out from a 5 story winding ramp. Fab day,” Henry later said in one of the comments.

According to a news report in the Daily Star, the car was identified as a Tesla Model S. “Westfield London’s car park team assisted the broken down vehicle and guided 10 vehicles that were behind the Tesla around it,” the Daily Star quoted a spokesperson for Westfield as saying.