Photo: Tesla
Electric cars are perfect as police vehicles and we will see more of them joining the force in the following years. The New York Police Department will break the ice and is considering the purchase of 250 Tesla Model 3 cars for their fleet. The deal could be worth more than $12 million.
The deal was brought to our attention by Bloomberg News, which came across a draft of the procurement contract at city offices. According to the document, NYPD will pay $52,000 for each car, which means these will either be Long Range versions with some improvements or Performance versions with a discounted price. It could also be a custom police car built by Tesla with input from NYPD, as the electric carmaker already has pilot programs with several police departments in the U.S. and abroad.
The purchase is part of a broader push toward electrification both at local and federal levels, to meet the climate goals. NYPD aims to transition to an all-electric fleet of cars in the future, so the Tesla contract would be a good start. Although the deal seems big enough to be important for Tesla, it doesn’t mean much for the Department. NYPD employs almost 36,000 uniformed officers and operates a fleet of 9,621 cars, as listed by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations.
Electric cars have huge advantages as police cars, beyond zero emissions promises. As demonstrated in other limited pilot programs in Michigan and California, EVs can significantly cut departments’ fuel and maintenance expenses.
A police car spends a lot of time idling, so you can see how an electric car like the Tesla Model 3 can save a lot of fuel. Electric cars also have the advantage of being virtually silent, which makes them ideal vehicles for stealth operations.
A deal between NYPD and Tesla will signal a tectonic shift in the law enforcement vehicle preferences if it goes through. Although police departments operate different vehicles from different brands, Ford is a dominant player in this segment, according to Bloomberg. Choosing the Tesla Model 3 over the Ford Mustang Mach-E might go down to the disappointing test results of the latter with the Michigan State Police. But it could also be leveraged to get a sweeter deal from Ford.
The purchase is part of a broader push toward electrification both at local and federal levels, to meet the climate goals. NYPD aims to transition to an all-electric fleet of cars in the future, so the Tesla contract would be a good start. Although the deal seems big enough to be important for Tesla, it doesn’t mean much for the Department. NYPD employs almost 36,000 uniformed officers and operates a fleet of 9,621 cars, as listed by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Operations.
Electric cars have huge advantages as police cars, beyond zero emissions promises. As demonstrated in other limited pilot programs in Michigan and California, EVs can significantly cut departments’ fuel and maintenance expenses.
A police car spends a lot of time idling, so you can see how an electric car like the Tesla Model 3 can save a lot of fuel. Electric cars also have the advantage of being virtually silent, which makes them ideal vehicles for stealth operations.
A deal between NYPD and Tesla will signal a tectonic shift in the law enforcement vehicle preferences if it goes through. Although police departments operate different vehicles from different brands, Ford is a dominant player in this segment, according to Bloomberg. Choosing the Tesla Model 3 over the Ford Mustang Mach-E might go down to the disappointing test results of the latter with the Michigan State Police. But it could also be leveraged to get a sweeter deal from Ford.
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