Photo: Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review
Following the Spokane Police Department’s pilot program for two Tesla Model Y units purchased last March, the department is apparently not satisfied with the electric vehicle (EV).
The Spokane Police Department is resistant to buying Teslas as police cruisers, ahead of plans to up the fleet with 64 new vehicles this year, according to The Spokesman-Review.
In a meeting with the Public Safety and Community Health Committee earlier this month, Spokane’s City Council Major Michael McNab said, “They’re not a suitable police car. They are too small. They are not designed for police work.”
The department also brought council members to get into the Model Y units to depict how tight of a squeeze it is to get inside them.
Photo: Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review
Still, Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs is encouraging the city to move to EVs, which city and state laws require when it’s an option.
In response, Beggs said, “If the Tesla isn’t the one you want, pick some you would like and try them out.”
In comparison with the Model Y units, however, the department preferred its Ford K8 Hybrid SUVs for patrol use, with its extra room.
Spokane Police says it cost $30,000 to turn the Tesla into a patrol car, on top of buying the electric vehicle. It costs $8,000 to $15,000 to outfit a Ford K8 Hybrid, says the department. But after five-years of cost, the Model Y works out to $101,000, while the K8 Hybrid is at $99,000, about the same.
Beggs still advocated that the Tesla would save the department money and last longer; he doesn’t favor Tesla but wants electrification.
In early results of the pilot, the Spokane Police Department said the Model Y was cost-efficient, but not very comfortable and didn’t feature much storage space.
Despite the negative review, the Model Y has been adopted by numerous other police departments, including Central Washington University in the same state, plus many more.
