I got halfway through the article and thought “They should be buying F-150 Lightnings instead.” Sure enough, about 80% down they start talking about how Fort Bragg bought F-150 Lightnings instead and has been very happy with their purchase.
Insert_creative
The f150 lightning or rivian r1t/s would make excellent police cars.
mcot2222
Something like the EV Blazer would work a lot better for them.
And they should install cheaper level 2 charging and just recharge them when not in use. Even the cheaper 50-100kW DC fast charging would be a good solution.
I have always expected that cybertrucks will be popular police vehicles once they get production dialed in, and they are one of the best uses for the extended range battery. Time will tell, but cops would not mind a lightly armored vehicle that could outrun any other vehicle and have extended range capabilities.
vafrow
I recall an argic about six months back with Canada’s RCMP force looking at EV options, and Tesla posed a few problems, like the panaromic roofs. They were looking into the Ford 150s and the Chevy Blazer EV though with some optimism.
All the more reason that we need the manufacturers to catch up. You need as many different options in the market.
Sea-Calligrapher9140
Who would have known the police version is nearly as bad as the production version.
wsxedcrf
These are legit concerns. I watched this video a while back about how teslas are modified into cop cars [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mgzMR9a68](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mgzMR9a68)
For the different size drivers to sit comfortably, you can’t put enough room at the back behind the driver to jail one more person.
buzzedewok
Go for the BMW i4 instead.
Amaxter
Interesting findings but god is this framing annoying. Later details in the article show that Tesla-specific issues (and the municipality having no plan for charging) are the issues, not electric vehicles in general. But the first few paragraphs frame this in the “EVs are slowing down” narrative. Ugh.
spurcap29
“I have some nails to hammer, walked down to Home Depot and saw tape measures were cheaper than hammers so bought a tape measure — I have been trying to figure out how to modify my tape measure to be a good hammer for weeks at an astronomical cost and all the people I have asked said it isn’t something they have seen done before so are really struggling …and have come to the realization that I shouldn’t have tried to hammer nails with a tape measure”
Creepy-Present-2562
Bullshit article
Alexandratta
F-150 Lightnings and Mach-E’s will likely be the future purchases.
Sadly Tesla service and the TCO is very bad for using Tesla’s as fleet vehicles, as Hertz discovered.
justinreddit1
Headline from article is deceiving and clickbait. Makes it sound like all of California state are refusing Tesla cop cars. This is not state wide, but article only mentioning one department in the state who is according to the article, Ukiah Police department. Ukiah is a city of 16,000 people. It’s a small spec of a city in comparison to the state itself.
Plenty other divisions and municipalities have adopted. Irvine Police actually just launched a Cybertruck as part of their fleet.
spurcap29
This article is a straw man puff piece.
They position the article to the reason why “the green agenda” and “electification of police” can’t work but when you read the actual complaints/concerns it very easily could have been about how some stupid group of police chiefs tried to buy a fleet of Kia Forte’s and determined they didn’t make good police cars either.
Puzzleheaded-Sea8340
It sounds like they just need a larger vehicle. It sounds like an F150. Lightning might be a good option. Also, the idea that the backseat only fits. One person is fucking lunacy… Unless they have a giant in the backseat, you can absolutely fit two people in the backseat… It seemed also to be a bit of a reach to talk about the one time they remember they had to drive 600 miles… OK so don’t use the Tesla when you transport someone 600 miles… And maybe it would be a good idea to outfit them with armored doors that they can hide behind in a fire fight rather than depending on the engine block, which seems like a hack
langjie
I was talking with someone who actually sells evse’s as one of their products. they were raffling off an evse at this event and was saying, who would want one of those. i’m like ev’s are great and his best come back was he’d win a race driving to florida. didn’t bother responding if that’s your logic. also was a disgusting human being
Doublestack00
I am not sure why any one is even surprised by this.
chucchinchilla
Does Menlo Park buy stock Ford Explorer XLT’s for police duty? No, they buy the Police Interceptor package which has a VERY long list of upgrades to improve durability. And yet they bought stock Model Y’s, fitted them with lights/sirens/comms, and called it a day expecting the same results.
Metsican
Should’ve bought Lightnings. Come on, now.
soupenjoyer99
Rivian Cop Cars when?
BigSkyMountains
Yep, I can see why Tesla’s don’t make great police cars. It’s not an EV thing, it’s that Tesla’s aren’t fundamentally designed to be modifiable.
I also imagine there are jobs within police work that the Tesla would be good for (traffic duty), but not as a general-purpose vehicle.
The Lightning does sound like a decent fit, but goes the other direction to overkill for many tasks at hand.
My dad talked with some of the fire departments that bought Rivian’s, and it sounds like Rivian was more willing to work with them on customization around lights and features than Ford was.
Balgor1
Article summary: Teslas due to small size and other quirks make poor police vehicles. Other EVs like the F150 lightening are great.
NewAbbreviations1872
> Tesla back seats “only have room for one prisoner,” Crook said, limiting an officer’s ability to sequester suspects.
They just need an EV with a bigger back seat. They could have given Tesla some suggestions or specifications to get a recommendation for a variant that best suits their needs. Ford F 150 is a good option as mentioned in the article
rsg1234
1. Buy an EV with absolutely no preparation or research to make it effective as a police vehicle, including charging infrastructure. 2. Complain
It would have solved a lot of their problems buying a Y instead of the 3. Also get a 14-50 installed at the police station.
wilan727
Nice hit piece.
Alarmed-Mechanic344
Elon’s haters have no life
1startreknerd
Police aren’t the smartest bunch.
Honorable_Heathen
In other news Prius does not make a good general contractor truck.
29 Comments
I got halfway through the article and thought “They should be buying F-150 Lightnings instead.” Sure enough, about 80% down they start talking about how Fort Bragg bought F-150 Lightnings instead and has been very happy with their purchase.
The f150 lightning or rivian r1t/s would make excellent police cars.
Something like the EV Blazer would work a lot better for them.
And they should install cheaper level 2 charging and just recharge them when not in use. Even the cheaper 50-100kW DC fast charging would be a good solution.
https://www.gmenvolve.com/fleet/police/chevrolet-blazer-ppv-ev
I have always expected that cybertrucks will be popular police vehicles once they get production dialed in, and they are one of the best uses for the extended range battery. Time will tell, but cops would not mind a lightly armored vehicle that could outrun any other vehicle and have extended range capabilities.
I recall an argic about six months back with Canada’s RCMP force looking at EV options, and Tesla posed a few problems, like the panaromic roofs. They were looking into the Ford 150s and the Chevy Blazer EV though with some optimism.
All the more reason that we need the manufacturers to catch up. You need as many different options in the market.
Who would have known the police version is nearly as bad as the production version.
These are legit concerns. I watched this video a while back about how teslas are modified into cop cars [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mgzMR9a68](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3mgzMR9a68)
For the different size drivers to sit comfortably, you can’t put enough room at the back behind the driver to jail one more person.
Go for the BMW i4 instead.
Interesting findings but god is this framing annoying. Later details in the article show that Tesla-specific issues (and the municipality having no plan for charging) are the issues, not electric vehicles in general. But the first few paragraphs frame this in the “EVs are slowing down” narrative. Ugh.
“I have some nails to hammer, walked down to Home Depot and saw tape measures were cheaper than hammers so bought a tape measure — I have been trying to figure out how to modify my tape measure to be a good hammer for weeks at an astronomical cost and all the people I have asked said it isn’t something they have seen done before so are really struggling …and have come to the realization that I shouldn’t have tried to hammer nails with a tape measure”
Bullshit article
F-150 Lightnings and Mach-E’s will likely be the future purchases.
Sadly Tesla service and the TCO is very bad for using Tesla’s as fleet vehicles, as Hertz discovered.
Headline from article is deceiving and clickbait.
Makes it sound like all of California state are refusing Tesla cop cars. This is not state wide, but article only mentioning one department in the state who is according to the article, Ukiah Police department. Ukiah is a city of 16,000 people. It’s a small spec of a city in comparison to the state itself.
Plenty other divisions and municipalities have adopted. Irvine Police actually just launched a Cybertruck as part of their fleet.
This article is a straw man puff piece.
They position the article to the reason why “the green agenda” and “electification of police” can’t work but when you read the actual complaints/concerns it very easily could have been about how some stupid group of police chiefs tried to buy a fleet of Kia Forte’s and determined they didn’t make good police cars either.
It sounds like they just need a larger vehicle. It sounds like an F150. Lightning might be a good option. Also, the idea that the backseat only fits. One person is fucking lunacy… Unless they have a giant in the backseat, you can absolutely fit two people in the backseat… It seemed also to be a bit of a reach to talk about the one time they remember they had to drive 600 miles… OK so don’t use the Tesla when you transport someone 600 miles… And maybe it would be a good idea to outfit them with armored doors that they can hide behind in a fire fight rather than depending on the engine block, which seems like a hack
I was talking with someone who actually sells evse’s as one of their products. they were raffling off an evse at this event and was saying, who would want one of those. i’m like ev’s are great and his best come back was he’d win a race driving to florida. didn’t bother responding if that’s your logic. also was a disgusting human being
I am not sure why any one is even surprised by this.
Does Menlo Park buy stock Ford Explorer XLT’s for police duty? No, they buy the Police Interceptor package which has a VERY long list of upgrades to improve durability. And yet they bought stock Model Y’s, fitted them with lights/sirens/comms, and called it a day expecting the same results.
Should’ve bought Lightnings. Come on, now.
Rivian Cop Cars when?
Yep, I can see why Tesla’s don’t make great police cars. It’s not an EV thing, it’s that Tesla’s aren’t fundamentally designed to be modifiable.
I also imagine there are jobs within police work that the Tesla would be good for (traffic duty), but not as a general-purpose vehicle.
The Lightning does sound like a decent fit, but goes the other direction to overkill for many tasks at hand.
My dad talked with some of the fire departments that bought Rivian’s, and it sounds like Rivian was more willing to work with them on customization around lights and features than Ford was.
Article summary: Teslas due to small size and other quirks make poor police vehicles. Other EVs like the F150 lightening are great.
> Tesla back seats “only have room for one prisoner,” Crook said, limiting an officer’s ability to sequester suspects.
They just need an EV with a bigger back seat. They could have given Tesla some suggestions or specifications to get a recommendation for a variant that best suits their needs. Ford F 150 is a good option as mentioned in the article
1. Buy an EV with absolutely no preparation or research to make it effective as a police vehicle, including charging infrastructure.
2. Complain
It would have solved a lot of their problems buying a Y instead of the 3. Also get a 14-50 installed at the police station.
Nice hit piece.
Elon’s haters have no life
Police aren’t the smartest bunch.
In other news Prius does not make a good general contractor truck.
Teslas are trash