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California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

techcrunch.com

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Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#31

Post by stavros »

starfezzy wrote: post #23
bstsb wrote: post #10

this seems like they haven't done their research at all - i find it surprising that they even thought a Model 3 would be a good police vehicle considering its dimensions. perhaps a better alternative is picking one of the many other EVs that are based on a ICE framework, which i presume would be much easier to modify as required?

All of the complaints were applicable to other EVs, or else a problem of poor planning rather than a problem of Teslas specifically. For example, choosing the small model then complaining that it’s small, or failing to install chargers in their lot then complaining they don’t have chargers in their lot. They mentioned that other brands weren’t even an option to due to various reasons, so it’s weird that they framed i…

> All of the complaints were applicable to other EVs

Out of the ten or so complaints I read, only two were applicable to other EVs (can't do long range, which it sounds like they only needed once), and no engine block to hide behind (surely they can just install additional armor on that part of the car).

The rest is Tesla being unfit for being a police car, which, yes, it is, why are you buying something you know doesn't fit your use case?

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#32

Post by bravetraveler »

schiffern wrote: post #30
bravetraveler wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They, uh, get surplus military equipment. Don't worry though, comms are removed. Eyeroll.jpg

I don't really want them to have that either.

I figured, just having 'fun'. Sharing is caring

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#33

Post by DragonStrength »

Closi wrote: post #15
DragonStrength wrote: post #3

> and note that in a firefight, police are taught to hide behind a car’s engine block. With EVs, that’s not an option. Definitely not an issue I'd ever considered with EVs.

It's not really an issue with EV's - if this was a requirement I'm sure they could have modified parts of the car to provide protection. The issue seems to be that the purchase was poorly thought out and didn't think about all the requirements of a police car.

Yeah, that's the point of me pulling it out: especially relevant to software folks when thinking about product requirements. "It's a car! I know what they need."

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#34

Post by stavros »

armitron wrote: post #5

One wonders what the point of this article is besides “we fucked up by choosing something that we should have known did not fit the constraints we had”.

"EV bad" propaganda. It's easy to frame it as "we bought some cars that didn't fit our use case, therefore the cars are bad".

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#35

Post by whoitwas »

fragmede wrote: post #11
kelnos wrote: post #4

Article is pretty light on content, and links to something quite more substantial: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-switch-ele...

that's a much better link. the F150 Lightning has much more going for it as a police EV.

Why? I'm very ignorant of the market. Can these vehicles run for 8 - 12 hours consecutively? The maintenance costs must be absurd. I wonder how often the tires must be swapped with this amount of constant wear and tear?

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#36

Post by Retric »

stavros wrote: post #27
mglz wrote: post #9

> say a reliance on unsecured charging stations makes officers vulnerable when it comes to transporting suspects long distances; and note that in a firefight, police are taught to hide behind a car’s engine block I am a diehard EV proponent, but it's important to admit that there are places where EVs are not the right solution. Especially in vehicles which take part in emergency response, the high energy density of f…

It doesn't really look like it? It looks like there was only one case in however many years this officer has worked that they've needed the extra range. If nothing else, they can have one IC car for when long-term trips need to happen. The rest of the issues sound like Tesla issues, rather than EV issues.

Not being able to hide behind the engine block is a cop specific issue. One that could be fixed by adding armor to some part of the vehicle but still an issue.

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#37

Post by whoitwas »

metaphor wrote: post #25
timomaxgalvin wrote: post #8

EVs are still on the early adopter phase. Things will get better, but I won't be buying one for the foreseeable.

> EVs are still on the early adopter phase. Not in California---the subject of the article---it ain't.

I think they meant tech is in the early stages where it's too unstable or undeveloped to be good value.

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#38

Post by sshine »

In Copenhagen, taxis have taxi-only EV chargers provided by the taxi companies.

The police have not yet ventured towards EVs, but as part of doing that, they must build the charger infrastructure to guarantee reliable charging of their fleet.

Allocating grid for fast charging in a densely populated area isn’t easy. Battery-powered chargers aren’t that common, and building noiseless ones is difficult.

The commercial infrastructure for fast charging is just not good enough yet. Emergency fast chargers need better geographical distribution.

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#39

Post by bravetraveler »

stavros wrote: post #27
mglz wrote: post #9

> say a reliance on unsecured charging stations makes officers vulnerable when it comes to transporting suspects long distances; and note that in a firefight, police are taught to hide behind a car’s engine block I am a diehard EV proponent, but it's important to admit that there are places where EVs are not the right solution. Especially in vehicles which take part in emergency response, the high energy density of f…

It doesn't really look like it? It looks like there was only one case in however many years this officer has worked that they've needed the extra range. If nothing else, they can have one IC car for when long-term trips need to happen. The rest of the issues sound like Tesla issues, rather than EV issues.

They're permitted exactly one combustible engine for purpose? What? The job demands the tool, not you.

Re: California police aren't loving their Tesla cop cars

#40

Post by [deleted] »

mglz wrote: post #9

> say a reliance on unsecured charging stations makes officers vulnerable when it comes to transporting suspects long distances; and note that in a firefight, police are taught to hide behind a car’s engine block I am a diehard EV proponent, but it's important to admit that there are places where EVs are not the right solution. Especially in vehicles which take part in emergency response, the high energy density of f…

[deleted]
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