  The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), a space-based high precision
cosmic ray detector, has just reported the new measurement of the total
electron plus positron energy spectrum up to 4.6 TeV. A notable feature in the
spectrum is the spectral break at $\sim 0.9$ TeV, with the spectral index
softening from $-3.1$ to $-3.9$. Such a feature is very similar to the knee at
the cosmic nuclei energy spectrum. In this work we propose that the knee-like
feature can be explained naturally by assuming that the electrons are
accelerated at the supernova remnants (SNRs) and released when the SNRs die out
with lifetime around $10^5$ years. The cut-off energy of those electrons have
already decreased to several TeV due to radiative cooling, which may induce the
observed TeV spectral break. Another possibility is that the break is induced
by a single nearby old SNR. Such a scenario may bring a large electron flux
anisotropy that is observable by the future detectors. We also show that a
minor part of electrons escaping during the acceleration in young and nearby
SNRs are able to contribute to several TeV or higher energy region of the
spectrum.
