Photo: Kevin Clark / The Herald
The Mukilteo, Washington Police Department has just received its first Tesla Model Y police cruiser, marking its fourth Tesla overall, according to a report from Herald Net shared on Wednesday.
In addition to the Model Y police cruiser, the department has already been operating two other Model Y units and one Model 3 unit for its detectives. All four of the Teslas are unmarked, and while the others are in undisclosed colors, the department’s new cruiser is in black.
Its lights and sirens are subtle, coming from the upper part of the windshield and the front bumper. However, to the average car, the Model Y also just looks like an average car.
Richmond Police in Vermont Loving their Tesla Model 3 Cruiser https://t.co/jf0EFmyHVI
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) August 4, 2022
The officer operating the Model Y cruiser is Al Gonzalez, who has said the Tesla has had a mixed effect on people he’s trying to police.
In a statement, Gonzalez said, “I usually get a double-take when people see it.” Gonzalez continued, “I had one gentleman, he was afraid to stop. He said he was a little apprehensive. He didn’t know police had Teslas. He was shocked.”
The Tesla was around $75,000 with the cage, lights and other police outfitting upgrades, which Police Chief Cheol Kang said was roughly the same amount the city had budgeted for patrol SUVs.
