- California police forces are seeing the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y as too tight for police duty
- There’s no official Tesla police package, and few other EV options
- Police-duty F-150 Lightning pickups have been better received—and other patrol EVs are on the way
Tesla electric cars have convinced many civilians to make the switch from internal combustion, but they aren’t winning many fans at police departments.
Electric police cars are starting to appear in greater numbers in California, which aims to phase out sales of most new cars with combustion engines by 2035. SF Gate recently interviewed police chiefs from three Northern California cities, who highlighted numerous issues with the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y as patrol cars.
Most automakers develop police packages for existing passenger cars, but Tesla hasn’t done so. Instead, the California police departments bought standard Teslas and had them converted by aftermarket companies, making them effectively custom jobs. In the case of the Ukiah Police Department, that meant relying on aftermarket firm Unplugged Performance, located about 500 miles from its headquarters.
Tesla Model Y police car by Unplugged Performance
While it’s possible to equip them with lights, radios, and other police equipment, the Model 3 and Model Y lack the interior space for police work, according to the report. One police chief told SF Gate that the Model 3 only had room in the back for one prisoner, while another said the tight fit for officers wearing duty belts and bullet-resistant vests made Model Y patrol cars “nearly unusable.”
California cops aren’t the only ones dissatisfied with Tesla police cars. In 2022, two Spokane Police Department Model Y crossovers received “scathing reviews” from officers. That police departments are still turning to Tesla highlights the lack of options for fully electric police vehicles, but more choices are becoming available.
The Fort Bragg Police Department gave its F-150 Lightning pickup trucks a more positive review. It’s acquired five since 2022—on its own initiative, rather than via a government mandate—and they were cheaper than replacing decommissioned police cars with gasoline vehicles due to incentives, the department’s chief told SF Gate. Fort Bragg plans to make its nine-vehicle fleet all electric within two years.
2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro SSV
The F-150 doesn’t have the space issues of the Model 3 and Model Y. Its bed can be used to store equipment or the abandoned bicycles and shopping carts cops are sometimes tasked with picking up. The Ford is also a known quantity to both aftermarket equipment suppliers, so maintenance and repairs are less of a challenge.
More EVs are also reporting for police duty. Another California police department—in the City of Irvine—recently took delivery of a Tesla Cybertruck. And Stellantis has teased a Dodge Charger Daytona police car, likely in a bid to maintain the police business from the previous-generation Charger sedan.
