California police officers who tested Teslas before the state’s ban on gasoline and diesel vehicles have revealed that they are “almost unusable” for police departments.
Governor Gavin Newsom mandated in September 2020 that all vehicles sold in California be zero-emission by 2035.
Since then, several local municipalities have implemented their own goals to convert their gasoline car fleet to electric vehicles.
But police chiefs who have bought Teslas say the cars’ design is detrimental to police operations.
Several California police departments bought Teslas before the ban on gas vehicles
Among the California police departments that have attempted to use Teslas is the Ukiah Police Department, the largest municipal police force in Mendocino County.
There, Police Chief Cedrick Crook asked the City Council to approve the purchase of two Tesla Model 3, which is the company’s sedan, on August 7, 2024.
That purchase totaled nearly $150,000 between the cost of the cars and $35,000 in modifications to get the Teslas ready for patrol, Crook said. he said to the Puerta de San Francisco.
He said the vehicles needed standard emergency lights, sirens, radio, antenna, push bar, partition and weapons rack, but that the Teslas also needed to be upgraded with ballistic panels to make them tougher for the streets.
The problem is that there is only one modification shop for Teslas in the state: Unplugged Performance in Hawthorne, which is about 500 miles south of Ukiah.
Store employees said it would take months to make all the necessary modifications to get the vehicles ready for patrol.
In addition to the problems with the cars, only two Tesla Supercharger stations have been installed in the city in the last two years. It’s still unclear how officers would charge the electric vehicles, Crook said.
He noted that police are often required to transport suspects, witnesses or victims to trials or hearing dates, which could be far away, and if detectives were driving a Tesla, Crook said they would have to spend time at a charging station. unsafe public while protecting the person.
Police Chief Cedrick Crook asked the City Council to approve the purchase of two Tesla Model 3, which is the company’s sedan, on August 7, 2024
He went on to say that the back seats “only have room for one prisoner,” limiting an officer’s ability to abduct suspects.
If the city had only one fleet of Teslas, Crook said, incidents involving more than one suspect would require more police to respond with more cars, putting a strain on police department resources.
Crook also noted that he had heard from other officers that they could not comfortably get in and out of the driver’s seat with their seat belt on due to the car’s sleek design.
Those belts could weigh up to 25 pounds and add bulk to an officer’s torso, he explained.
And in shootings, Crook said, officers are taught to hide behind a car’s engine block, but there are no engine blocks in Teslas.
In the end, he said, he ended up only buying the Model 3 for administrative staff.
“I’m not willing to put an officer in a Tesla,” the police chief told the Gate.
Similarly, Menlo Park Police Department Chief David Norris ordered three Tesla Model Ys, which are slightly larger than Model 3s, equipped them for patrol duties, and conducted a study of the vehicle’s patrol performance. .
The study found that Menlo Park police officers “appreciated the vehicle’s acceleration, steering and speed compared to hybrids and other gasoline-powered patrol vehicles.”
But, it said, “the Tesla presented challenges due to the small interior space, ‘smart car’ features, and the vehicle’s low profile that limited maneuverability (e.g., jumping curbs, off-road use).”
It also said that the partition separating the front and rear seats reduced the available space in the front, where the center console, lighting controls and communications tablet are located.
As a result, uniformed officers had limited space in the front seat, and some police officers said their seat belts and body armor would protrude from the passenger seat “making it almost unusable.”
There is only one modification shop for Teslas in the state: Unplugged Performance in Hawthorne
Officers also reported “Autopilot interference,” which caused “a delay when officers shifted into gear” and triggered an automatic stop when officers attempted to pull over to the side of the road, possibly because the car assumed it was moving. deviating from its course.
To make matters worse, Tesla’s touchscreen lighting controls required an onerous multi-step process to dim the lights at night, and the proximity lock, sleep mode, and self-closing doors caused problems with the controls. police to keep their patrols closed.
Norris ultimately concluded that the Tesla Ys, in their current design, do not appear to be the “patrol cars of the future,” although he noted that he remained committed to the goal of Menlo Park’s electric vehicle fleet.
One way to do this may be to use other electric vehicles, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, which the Fort Bragg Police Department tested.
Chief Neil Cervenka said he opted for those vehicles because the parts are readily available, as are mechanics who can maintain the vehicle.
He also said modifications to F-150s to prepare them for patrol are less expensive because there are more suppliers to choose from and more options.
“Tesla is not currently the right answer in the law enforcement market for electric adoption,” he said, “but there could be better options.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Tesla for comment.
