The Anaheim Police Department has officially launched a pilot program to test six Tesla Model Y vehicles as patrol cars. This comes after photos of the outfitted cruisers were spotted last week. The vehicles are being provided by Unplugged Performance, which highlighted the advantages of using Tesla vehicles in a social media post.
The company emphasized the excellent officer safety, high driving performance, and low total cost of ownership offered by the Tesla vehicles. During the initial testing period, the Model Y units will only be driven for one patrol shift, or about 12.5 hours per day. The second phase of testing will involve launching the electric vehicles 24 hours a day, utilizing Tesla Superchargers when necessary during patrol shifts.
The department plans to use Level 2 EV chargers at the police station and public works headquarters during the initial testing phase. Sergeant Jacob Gallacher explained that since this is a pilot program, they do not want to make an infrastructure investment in superchargers until they fully assess how the vehicles perform and if they want to integrate EVs into their fleet. The Model Y was chosen for its advanced features, rapid acceleration, large storage capacity, affordability, and low maintenance requirements, all of which are considered crucial for police operations.
The agency plans to use the pilot program’s results to make decisions about introducing more EVs into the fleet.