[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] California cops who have trialed Teslas ahead of the state's ban on gas and diesel vehicles have revealed they are 'nearly unusable' for police departments.
Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated in September 2020 that all vehicles sold in California be zero emission by 2035.
Since then, a number of local municipalities have implemented their own goals to convert their fleet of gas-powered cars to electric vehicles.
But the police chiefs who have purchased Teslas say the design of the cars is detrimental to police operations.
Among the California police departments that have tried using Teslas was the Ukiah Police Department, the largest municipal police force in Mendocino County.
There, Police Chief Cedrick Crook requested the City Council approve the purchase of two Tesla Model 3s, which is the company's sedan, on August 7, 2024.
That purchase totaled nearly $150,000 between the cost of the cars and $35,000 in modifications to make the Teslas patrol-ready, Crook told the San Francisco Gate.
He said the vehicles needed the standard emergency lights, sirens, radio, antenna, push bar, partition and gun rack, but the Teslas also needed to be upgraded with ballistic panels to toughen it up for the streets.
The problem is that there is only one modification shop for Teslas in the state: Unplugged Performance in Hawthorne, which is about 500 miles south of Ukiah.
Store employees said it would take months to make all the modifications necessary to make the vehicles patrol-ready.
Adding to the issues with the cars, only two Tesla Supercharger stations have been installed in the city over the past two years. It remains unclear how officers would be charging the electric vehicles, Crook said.
He noted that police are often required to transport suspects, witnesses or victims to trials or court dates, which could be far away, and if detectives were driving a Tesla, Crook said they would have to spend time at an unsecured public charging station while protecting the person.
Police Chief Cedrick Crook requested the City Council approve the purchase of two Tesla Model 3s, which is the company's sedan, on August 7, 2024 
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