This is what it takes for a Tesla Model S to become a police car

The used car bought through Tesla looks a lot like the other patrol vehicles parked in back of Fremont police headquarters. But unlike the Fords and Chevys, this particular car requires a lot of special attention.

Transforming the 2014 Tesla Model S 85-kwH sedan into a standard police vehicle took more than slapping a Fremont police insignia on the door. At police headquarters ahead of the car’s March 15 debut patrol ride, Fremont police Capt. Sean Washington explained why the car required $4,000 in modifications. Unlike the force’s Ford police cars, a Tesla doesn’t come with a “police package,” essentially a barebones version of a car that can be easily modified with police lights and center equipment. 

This particular Tesla has garnered significant attention. Fremont police are the first law enforcement agency in the U.S. to deploy an all-electric vehicle (EV) for patrol duty. Los Angeles Police Department looked into an EV program, but haven’t moved forward as quickly as Fremont has. Police in Basel, Switzerland have a police car Model X, and Washington said he’s been in touch to compare notes and hear advice.

Washington plans to share with Tesla what police need and don’t need to help create a police-ready Tesla in the future. Other police departments throughout the U.S. and beyond are eager to hear how Fremont transformed the vehicle. An agency from Georgia recently called to hear exactly how they could emulate the EV program for patrol duty. 

Everything from a hard smooth plastic prisoner seat (people vomit and urinate in the back, a lieutenant told me as we toured the car) and prisoner partition and push-bumper had to be customized for a Tesla Model S. It’s a long list of modifications that went into the Fremont PD EV: an overhead light bar, rear flashers, in-vehicle camera, trunk lighting, push-bumper, partitions between the front seat and back and between the backseat and trunk area, the center console pulled out and replaced with police equipment, the front doors replaced with armored door panels, and so many other details, like disabled windows and door handles for the back seat.

Tesla engineers were consulted to make sure drilling into certain sections wouldn’t destroy the vehicle. The Tesla tablet remains in the dashboard, but the police computer sits in front of it. The features that Tesla is known for were disabled, like the Autopilot semi-autonomous system and self-parking.

Washington explained that the department didn’t set out to buy a Tesla in particular, but any EV as part of a program to reduce emissions from city vehicles. After evaluating different brands for battery range, size (“police have a lot of equipment”), and performance, Tesla came out on top. It just happens that Tesla vehicles are manufactured in Fremont, California. 

The bill shows it cost $61,478.50 to buy it used through Tesla last year. Washington knows some residents are going to think the police are being frivolous and overspending on a splashy car, but after careful calculations the department can justify it. Compared with the typical gas Ford police vehicle over a five-year period and putting on about 90,000 miles (Fremont patrol cars don’t put on much mileage with short trips) it comes out to $5,130 for five years worth of energy compared to $32,297 in gas. The initial costs are where it gets people: $74,500 for the Tesla compared to $40,500 for a Ford.

But CO2 emissions over five years really add up: 22,421 pounds in the Tesla compared to 210,994 pounds from the Ford. The department already has charging infrastructure set up for plug-in hybrid Ford vehicles brought in the past few years.

The Tesla’s been undergoing tests and a dedicated Tesla driver is getting used to the vehicle — small things like no gear shifter and the location of the spotlight or other tools. The driver’s been warned that for the first few months the car will attract a lot of attention and requests for pictures, especially with the label as the first police patrol EV. “It comes with being the first,” Washington said, bracing for the attention. The car, along with the department’s other hybrids, will be on display for a media viewing Wednesday morning.

After the testing period, Washington hopes the city can keep adding Teslas or other EVs to the patrol fleet. If all goes well, another 10 could be purchased and retrofitted, then eventually another 20. Washington is confident electric vehicle technology will improve in the coming years, making it more realistic to have a mostly electric fleet.

Until then, the one Tesla will suffice.