The Snohomish County Sheriff’s office purchased a Tesla Model Y Long Range for use in their community. The vehicle, including all the equipment associated with police cars, came in at $51,000 USD.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle will be on patrol by the end of 2021.
The purchase of Model Y for the office is an experiment for the community. The Sheriff’s Office is looking for feedback from their Sheriff’s on the vehicles ability to perform as a squad car.
The Tesla test is after the relative failure of hybrids for the police force. The move to full EV will not pay for itself but will assist in lowering costs associated with gas, repairs and service on the vehicle, reports HeraldNet.
However, some questions are left unanswered and only possible to answer with real-world testing. Questions include how the Tesla Model Y will deal with the rigors of patrol work and how it reacts to a pursuit situation.
The Tesla will move throughout the department. However, it will spend most of the time on traffic enforcement, DUI patrol and proactive patrol.
