@Maximilien - You clearly have your mind up and are convinced that Teslas make perfect police cars. In fact, there are a number of reasons why they make very bad police cars (even if the cost/luxury issue didn't exist). The examples you have listed of Teslas (and other supercars) being used as police cars are unique edge cases:
- cars that were seized (typically drug seizures) and tricked out as police cars -- normally used for PR purposes
- middle east police forces where (a) money is not an issue and (b) these are not the majority of the fleet, again these are unique cases done more as a way of saying "Dubai (or Abu Dhabi or Bahrain) is so rich that we have Teslas/Ferraris/Lamborghinis in our police fleet."
- Luxembourg is another edge case -- a tiny country with a lot of money where the Teslas are being used as much for political reasons as for practical law enforcement reasons.
The reality is that NO high performance sports car (Tesla/Ferrari/Lambo/etc.) is practical as a police car. Probably the closest thing is a Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger, but those are cars in a different league and the units sold as police cars are as close to a stock mustang/charger as a NASCAR race car is "stock." Other have pointed out the differences, but you don't want to acknowledge them:
- A Tesla does have range issues when used the way most police cars are used
- A Tesla suspension/wheels/ground clearance are nowhere near good enough to handle the kind of driving police cars engage in (going over curbs, debris, roadside ditches, etc.).
- A Tesla frame is incredibly stout, but the front fascia is nowhere near an optimal design for a car that has to be able to ram other vehicles, and the design is suboptimal to put a ramming bumper in front (as is done for many police cars).
- The door handles are not practical in this use case
- The hatchback design is not ideal to transport prisoners in the back seat
and finally...
- Tesla has shown NO interest in performing the sorts of modifications necessary to produce a "production" police car...
You feel otherwise, we get it. But we're not the people you have to convince. If you can convince your local police department to go with all Teslas, have at it...
This is an open-end discussion. I am not trying to convince others. I opened the thread just to hear people's thoughts and their perdpective. Never meant serious discussion nor how the system should be this way that way etc...
In addition, I have absolutely no affiliation with police departments. Just a fun thought arose because most police cars I pass by are American manufacturers and Tesla happen to be one of them, too.
I do agree that as of now, it is not a feasible solution due to the parts availability, high initial cost, and many technical issues. But at one point or another, I believe that the transition to electric cars is happening not only to masses but also to the hearts of the governments. If Tesla does not do it, other car company may do it.
Price of the battery should keep decreasing. Charging installation should come down due to the more demand and more competition. Again, at one point I see EV's will be part of the mainstream society.
Maybe I should have said EVs for PD but to think of it, Tesla is the leading pioneer in EV with innovation. I see Tesla is not just here to satisfy rich customers (Model S and X), but instead its movement toward the general public (Model S and Model Y) and soon Tesla pickup truck imply it is interested in improving transportation overall. Maybe not now, but given some years and improvements, I don't see why Tesla will totally ignore whole fleet for PD across the states. Besides the it is the American automaker that help our economy.
I think Elon or Tesla tweeted that their vision to make even cheaper than Model 3. While that sounds like a pipedream now, give it sometime. As long as Tesla doesn't go bankrupt in the meantime, I can see $25,000 future model coming out.
Maybe I should have been more clear about the timeline. It doesn't have to be now and when Tesla takes care of its priority and becomes successful, who knows what can happen?