Novice driver nabbed speeding Tesla through B.C.’s Lower Mainland at 185 km/h, police say

A Tesla was clocked going 185 km/h down Highway 1 in Surrey, B.C., on Jan. 29, 2025. (Credit: B.C. HIghway Patrol)

Authorities nabbed a young Tesla driver zooming through B.C.’s Lower Mainland at an “egregious” speed last week, prompting a warning about reckless behaviour behind the wheel.

Cpl. Michael McLaughlin of B.C. Highway Patrol said the Tesla was clocked going 185 km/h while “weaving through traffic” along Highway 1 through Surrey last Wednesday night around 10 p.m.

“That’s a 100 km/h zone, so it was very much an excessive speed,” McLaughlin said. “I would say it was egregious speeding.”

An officer pulled the Tesla over and discovered the driver – a 20-year-old from Maple Ridge – had a novice licence, and that both of the vehicle’s licence plates were also covered.

“That’s two offences right there,” McLaughlin said, noting that drivers face a separate ticket for each plate that is covered up.

Between those tickets and another for excessive speeding, the Tesla driver racking up a total of $943 in fines. The vehicle was also impounded.

McLaughlin could not speak to why the young man’s plates were covered, but said in general, people with blocked licence plates fall into one of two categories: “Some are just ignorant of the law and do not understand you cannot have any cover over your plate, other people are certainly doing it to obscure them from cameras or from law enforcement.”

The latter is not effective, McLaughlin added.

“B.C. Highway Patrol is out there all day and night, and you’re going to get ticketed and you’re going to get an automatic impound,” he said. “And that’s going to ruin your day.”

He urged all drivers to slow down and be safe on the road, to avoid creating dangerous situations for themselves and others.