Photo: Menlo Park Police Department
With the growing popularity of electric vehicles, police departments across the country have begun replacing their gasoline-powered patrol vehicles with battery-powered equivalents. Most have expressed satisfaction with the new electric cars, but the Menlo Park Police Department disagrees. After running a year-long Tesla Model Y pilot program, they concluded that electric vehicles are not the “patrol cars of the future.”
Electric vehicles were designed to be the ideal police vehicles due to their many qualities. Departments across the United States were happy to save money compared to using hybrid patrol vehicles. Despite what the name suggests, a police patrol vehicle spends most of its time idling and electric vehicles can do this without wasting much energy compared to a gasoline-powered vehicle.
It’s not just the fuel economy that makes the difference, but also the very low maintenance costs of an electric car. A report by the Somerset Police Department in Wisconsin showed that a Tesla Model Y cruiser could save nearly $84,000 over ten years compared to a Ford Explorer cruiser with a hybrid powertrain.
Then, there are many other advantages of electric vehicles for police work, including the almost silent operation, which helps during stealth missions. The acceleration of an electric car is unmatched by ICE vehicles, which makes Electric vehicle police cars ideal for high-speed chases.
However, despite initial success with some police departments, not everyone is convinced that electric vehicles will be a great replacement for police patrol vehicles. The Menlo Park Police Department recently released a report showing the Tesla Model Y’s shortcomings as a police patrol vehicle. The department ran a pilot program from January 2023 to January 2024, using three Tesla Model Y Long Range vehicles. Only two were actively used, with the third serving as a backup.
Despite initial concerns, the Tesla Model Y LR offered enough range to complete all shifts. Additionally, officers appreciated the vehicle's acceleration, steering, and speed compared to hybrid and gasoline-powered vehicles. Plus, knowing that you're protecting the environment by not releasing harmful gases into the atmosphere is a bonus.
However, they did not appreciate how the vehicles were equipped for police work, as well as the car's intelligent functions. In particular, the height of the center console limited access to weapons, and there was limited space for two officers in patrol gear. In addition, the car's headlights would go out at night, and the Autopilot system occasionally interfered with the types of driving required during police patrol.
Other problems have been caused by the Tesla Model Y’s low ride height, which makes it impossible to clear curbs during a chase. Officers have also complained about not being able to turn off voice commands, which I suspect could cause hilarious incidents if used by criminals in the back.
Tesla’s control system, which uses a touchscreen and software menus, presented a challenge for officers, who had to go through a multi-step process for many checks, including dimming the lights. It was also difficult for officers to keep the cars’ lights on during traffic stops when they were walking away from their cars. Despite attempts to resolve these issues with the company that equipped the vehicles, they were unsuccessful due to a lack of support from Tesla.