The thin blue line goes green: Australian cops unveil their first electric car as they buy a $182,000 Tesla Model X
Victoria Police will be using the Tesla Model X for highway patrol purposes
They will be developing the car alongside Tesla to make the car suitable for duty
The vehicle has been described as 'unlike any other' in the current fleet

The first electric police car in Australia has been unveiled - with a view to replace the force's entire fleet with battery-powered vehicles.

Victoria Police will be using the Tesla Model X to patrol highways across the state.

The car has five seats, five doors, can connect to the officer's mobile data, has the ability to display signage for officers to direct traffic and can help replay body camera footage.

'I can see in the future our entire fleet is electric,' Inspector Stuart Bailey told the Herald Sun.

'It's coming and it's coming rapidly.'

The Elon Musk-designed Model X can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds.

The car has built-in cameras and 'falcon wing' doors, and has the ability to drive itself.

The electric vehicle is a one-off procurement and is part of a study to help Tesla and Victoria Police fit the equipment and integrate current software into the on-board system.

Trials for the car will be in Bass Coast, La Trobe Valley, Casey and Dandenong.

Victoria Police claim they will pay a quarter for the car's electricity as they would for petrol, and they only need servicing once a year.

The Model X can cost up to $182,000 to buy but the state's police force won't reveal how much they paid.

This is up to four times more expensive than a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon patrol car, according to news.com.au.

The car can travel distances of 505km if it is fully charged and Tesla has plans to have supercharge points no more than 150km away from any location.

Rapid charge points can take 45 minutes while others can take between seven and eight hours. 

There are currently 153 destination charging stations in Victoria.

'This vehicle is unlike any other Victoria Police has ever had in its fleet and could well be the future of road policing in this state, country and the world,' Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said.

'Our Highway Patrol car are equipped with cutting edge technology and this car gives us the opportunity to investigate having these technologies in a fully integrated in-car system which has the potential of streamlining the road policing effort.

'There is also a great environmental benefit to electric vehicles and considering our State Highway Patrol vehicles travel thousands of kilometres on the road per year, we should always be looking at ways we can lessen our impact on the environment.'

The Assistant Commissioner said the car will undergo constant checks while they're being used to see if they should expand their use. 

'It is important to remember this is a concept vehicle for Victoria Police and we acknowledge that it will produce a number of unique circumstances and will continue to evolve as police software is integrated,' he said.

'Vehicles are obviously critical to the work we do as they represent the mobile office for many of our frontline police and projects such as these mean that when the switch does inevitably happen, our job of keeping Victorians safe will not be compromised.'

This is up to four times more expensive than a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon patrol car, according to news.com.au.

But they can't catch anyone with a Holden and Ford clunker. That is the whole point that is obviously overlooked by moreons like yourself.

While the cops wait four and a half hours for their quarter of a million dollar rechargeable cars to recharge the bad guys in their stolen XR8's have made a getaway.

How many EXTRA hours in the air would $182,000 allow the police chopper? 

OR

How many police officers could be employed for that amount?

DonDeeHippy wrote on Jun 4^th, 2019 at 9:24am:


The cost is what it is.......buying ONE fvvken vehicle for the Police doesn't afford discount clown..........