Southern California Cops Now Driving Tesla Patrol Cars

For those of you who might be planning a trip to Disneyland this summer, you might notice the local police department sporting new, electric vehicles. The Anaheim Police Department is trying to combat its epidemic of worn-out, environmentally unfriendly cruisers.

Anaheim is home to Disneyland, in case you didn't know. It's a city of more than 340,000 residents and is 26 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Anaheim is also home to two professional sports teams, those being the Ducks (hockey) and the Angels (baseball). The city generates a ton of money annually from tourism.

I wonder how these cars will handle in high-speed pursuit situations. The freeways surrounding Anaheim are notorious for high-speed chases, and Teslas aren't known to be the speediest of automobiles.

Get our free mobile app

Local police recently began testing new patrol vehicles. The new Tesla cruisers are smaller and less spacious than traditional cars used in law enforcement. A large number of the department's 80-plus vehicles aren't operating well and maintenance has become a major issue, according to details shared by The Orange County Register.

I don't know a lot about Tesla automobiles, but the new fleet appears to be on the lower end of the spectrum as far as cost is concerned. They don't have the bells and whistles that some of the more expensive models have, and as far as space goes, they appear much more confining.

I wonder how these cars will handle in high-speed pursuit situations. The freeways surrounding Anaheim are notorious for high-speed chases, and Teslas aren't known to be the speediest of automobiles. Maintenance on Teslas will be costly as well, so I'm not sure what types of real advantages switching to this model of cars is going to provide the city of Anaheim.