Electric vehicles and especially Tesla vehicles are now on the radar of police departments looking to update their fleet. The Tesla Model 3 is already being deployed and now even the Model Y is under consideration at a police department in Pennsylvania.
All it takes is a test drive… and looking at the numbers.
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office announced that they test drove a Model 3 to see if they should add Tesla vehicles to their fleet.
They wrote on Facebook:
“Today, the Sheriff’s Office is test driving a Model 3* in hopes that we can add Tesla’s to our fleet. We have always been conscious of the environment and realize the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, while still providing the best public service to the citizens of Allegheny County.”
It looks like it went well because they now say that if they crunch the numbers and find Tesla vehicles to be affordable and cost-effective (not sure what’s the difference), they will look to add them to their fleet:
“If we can ensure that these vehicles are affordable and cost effective, the Sheriff’s Office will be taking a very serious look at putting energy efficient Model Y’s on the street.”
They even directly mentioned the yet-to-be-released Model Y, which is a bigger hatchback version of the Model 3.
While it has yet to be proven for the Model Y, some police departments have already crunched the numbers for the Model 3 as a patrol vehicle.
Earlier this year, the Bargersville, Indiana, Police Department started updating its fleet to Tesla Model 3 vehicles.
When it comes to performance, it’s not going to be an issue compared to the Dodge Chargers they are replacing. They went with a Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which is speedy despite not being the highest performance version of the car, and with a range of 240 miles, it greatly exceeds the average daily mileage of a patrol car, which is between 80 miles and 120 miles per day.
As for cost, Model 3 is the clear winner. The Standard Range Plus version that they bought is a little more expensive than the Charger at ~$41,000, but they expect gas savings of about $6,000 per year, which means that the Model 3 will almost pay for itself over its lifetime (they expect six years as a police vehicle).
They also expect significant maintenance savings with the Model 3.
Electrek’s Take
Every police department, and every fleet manager really, should probably start looking at electric vehicles to update their fleet.
For police, the Model 3 seems to be making the most sense right now based on performance and cost – though I can see why the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is interested in the Model Y.
It offers a little more room and they need to retrofit these vehicles with a significant amount of equipment.
Tesla vehicles could also be particularly interesting for the Sentry Mode feature and the integrated Tesla dashcam.
I am sure they have different standards for law enforcement-grade recording systems, but Tesla could maybe make a version of those features especially for law enforcement.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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