Californian police officers to use electric Tesla’s in £400,000 investment

New electric Tesla Model Y’s will be rolled out to police officers in an entire city as part of a major EV push. The South Pasadena Police Department will be the first in the United States to convert their entire fleet to electric models with specially adapted Tesla cars selected. The models will be supplied by Unplugged Performance who have worked in uplifting the vehicles to make them ideal for law enforcement use. Funding for the scheme was obtained by the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) alongside the Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready scheme. It has promised £392,000 ($500,000 clean transportation funding to expand the project. Officers will get a range of Tesla Model Y cars (Image: Unplugged Performance) A total of 10 Tesla Model Y Patrol cars have been ordered while nine new charging bays will also be fitted. Ben Schaffer, CEO of Unplugged Performance explained: In our 10 years of innovation on Tesla platforms our role has always been to push the limits, be it in motorsports, consumer applications, complete custom vehicles, and now with fleet upfitting for Police Departments. ‘There is no doubt in our mind that the most capable, safest, most comfortable environment for an officer to spend the bulk of their day is inside a properly equipped Tesla police car. ‘Unplugged Performance has the deepest expertise in developing holistic integrated solutions that work seamlessly with the unique Tesla ecosystem. The cars will be fully adapted for law enforcement purposes (Image: Unplugged Performance) ‘We’re excited to introduce our UPfit division for Tesla Police Vehicles and are confident we represent the best choice for taxpayers and police officers alike.’ Earlier this year, South Pasadena Council member Michael Cacciotti confirmed the scheme is a part of the city’s Climate Action Plan. The council opted to make the change back in 2022 after assessing their current vehicles were at the end of their life span. Cacciotti commented: ‘We will be putting our officers in the safest and most effective police vehicles on the market. ‘In addition to that, we will be investing in technology that will help reduce harmful vehicle emissions to improve air quality for all our residents.’ The council backed the changes back in 2022 (Image: Unplugged Performance) Tesla models are expected to be introduced across UK forces soon with the British Transport Police (BTP) already making a pledge to electric cars. The BTP’s first electric response vehicle hit the roads in December with forces taking on a Tesla Model 3. BTP chiefs are targeting a fully-electric range by 2025 with around 80 models already secured.