The Wolfeboro Police Department in New Hampshire has gone electric with a Tesla Model Y. The electric cruiser was donated to police by an anonymous local family.
The Model Y will be assigned to Captain Mark Livie, who said the minimalistic interior design and center screen display was a big change from their conventional cruisers. He added that it didn’t take him long to adjust and the new layout makes sense while driving.
“Everything is on it, wipers to air, so everything is controlled [from the center screen]. There’s nothing in the middle of the center console, which you’re used to on a normal vehicle,” Livie told WMUR.
Livie also pointed out the advantage of an electric police car – the fact there is no engine and the Model Y is virtually silent at slower speeds.
“It definitely does give some advantage when you’re going to a call, or, basically, you can kind of slow approach a residence or a business, and no one’s going to hear you in this kind of vehicle,” he said.
Police Commissioner Steve Wood says they will be monitoring the performance of the Model Y, in particular its costs compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) cruisers. Wood expects to have it as part of their fleet for at least 10 years.
Based on data from other police departments that have already added Teslas to their fleets like the Bargersville PD, he is confident it will be beneficial to the Wolfeboro PD’s bottom line.
This isn’t the first time an anonymous donor has gifted a Tesla to a local police department. The Gates Mills PD in Ohio recently received a Model S from a local citizen. The car is currently being converted for police use and is expected on the beat later this summer.
