Fremont (CA) Police using a Tesla as a patrol car

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Tesla is the 2nd biggest employer in Fremont, after Lam Research, which is right across the street (CA 880).
HUGE tax base for the city and area. Fremont really wanted Tesla to build there because of the loss of NUMMI.
Many restaurants and other businesses suffered when NUMMI shut down; it was bad.
The loss of all the union jobs even hit property values.

Our 1965 4-4-2, my old 1993 Toyota 4WD PU and 2018 Model 3 were all built there.
All are still in service.



And the Telsa is only fit to transport a meter maid for half a shift.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by billt460
As the article states, it takes less than a 100 Amp draw to kill an idling engine. So in order to prevent that, the electronics are designed to increase engine RPM automatically when that takes place. The same scenario in a Tesla will only amount to a drained battery faster.... Much faster. And if the answer is to turn all of it off. Or not put it in the car to begin with, then all this Rube Goldberg experiment has created is a sweaty, useless cop.

They haven't quite explained how they do it. My understanding is that the 12V system can be driven by leaving the traction battery active like one is idling an ICE. The 12V battery and system is normally charged and powered while driving via a DC-DC converter. Sure it will be draining it constantly, but how long it can keep the systems running doesn't sound like it should be a problem when there's a huge battery.

Police vehicles are constantly running their engines anyways. I don't see how different it would be with a Tesla other than it's coming out of a big battery rather than an engine burning gasoline.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
Police vehicles are constantly running their engines anyways. I don't see how different it would be with a Tesla other than it's coming out of a big battery rather than an engine burning gasoline.

The difference is engines that are turning large capacity alternators are constantly replenishing electrical energy into the system with more than they use. A battery only vehicle will continue to use energy until it is dead. There is nothing to put any energy back into the system, until it sees a charger. Then, just like any other Tesla, once it's electrical power becomes depleted, it's useless until it's batteries are totally recharged. And that takes a lot more time than it does to pump in a tank full of gas. We're right back to where we always end up with electric vehicles. A lot of downtime between charges, with limited places to charge them.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Police vehicles are constantly running their engines anyways. I don't see how different it would be with a Tesla other than it's coming out of a big battery rather than an engine burning gasoline.

The difference is engines that are turning large capacity alternators are constantly replenishing electrical energy into the system with more than they use. A battery only vehicle will continue to use energy until it is dead. There is nothing to put any energy back into the system, until it sees a charger. Then, just like any other Tesla, once it's electrical power becomes depleted, it's useless until it's batteries are totally recharged. And that takes a lot more time than it does to pump in a tank full of gas. We're right back to where we always end up with electric vehicles. A lot of downtime between charges, with limited places to charge them.

The city has its own electric vehicle charging setup. However, this is in Fremont where they can tuck into the Tesla parking lot for an extremely fast charge. On top of that, isn't it free for a 2014 where free charging transfers to the next owner?

I wonder if the Tesla warranty terms exclude police use.

However, my point is that the drain from the electronics isn't likely to be enough to completely drain the traction battery in a day. On top of that, idling an ICE to keep the electronics and A/C running is highly inefficient compared to performing DC-DC conversion.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by Falcon_LS
Interested to see how it performs, battery life wise, with all the equipment installed.

And happy birthday to you!

Obviously, a Tesla won't be having a 24 hour usage cycle. That's one downside for many units and many departments.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by dave1251


And the Telsa is only fit to transport a meter maid for half a shift.

Meh, the Prius/Prius C is more for that role. Even though King County Metro has a few patrol Prii to keep order on their buses.