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Police Really Want a Cybertruck, Email Shows

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A California police department wants to be the first agency to have a law enforcement-branded Cybertruck, according to an internal email obtained by 404 Media.

The email Sergeant Jacob Gallacher, of the Anaheim Police Department, sent in early February read “P.S. I spoke with the Chief yesterday and we still want to be the first police agency to have a Cybertruck. If anyone can make that happen, I know it is you!” Gallacher sent the email to James Hedland from UP.FIT, a company that sells modified Teslas for use by law enforcement. The email was part of a conversation about the department’s use of Teslas.

Gallacher later told 404 Media that the email was something of “a joke,” but reaffirmed the agency’s wish to obtain a Cybertruck before other agencies, even if more for “community engagement” than using it as a patrol vehicle.

“We would, but it’s not necessarily from a patrol perspective,” Gallacher said. 404 Media obtained the email through a public records request.

tal ,
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

Fast acceleration and low fuel use might be desirable characteristics for a police vehicle, but that seems like a kind of pricey vehicle to be used in a role that one expects wear-and-tear in.

thinks

Sometimes police need to sit in their car idle for a long time. If the traction battery in the Cybertruck can be used to drive accessories (like, if there’s an inverter or something driven by the traction battery), that might be useful. My understanding is that a number of EVs don’t permit for that, though.

Darkassassin07 ,
@Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca avatar

The Cybertruck explicitly advertises its 120/240vac inverter for ‘job site tools’ and other similar uses; then voids your warranty if you actually use it ‘while stationary’.

Here’s Louis Rossmann ranting about it for a bit.

tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

The Cybertruck explicitly advertises its 120/240vac inverter for ‘job site tools’ and other similar uses

Oh, that’s nice.

then voids your warranty if you actually use it ‘while stationary’.

That’s not.

Hmm. I wonder if it’s because adding extra charge/discharge cycles eats into battery life, which is probably a major bound on the car’s life.

considers

Honestly, if EVs don’t have a way to read charge/discharge count in a way that’s hard-for-potential-resellers-to-fiddle-with the way odometers are, they probably should, and EV sales should probably list that number the way cars do mileage today, as a measurement of “wear”.

EDIT: And at least for the battery, the warranty should probably be on the number of charge/discharge cycles, not on the distance traveled.

Darkassassin07 ,
@Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca avatar

Oh, most definitely. Tracking battery wear should 100% be standard practice, and considered when buying/selling used EVs.

I just find it interesting that Tesla tells you to do something, then ultimately punishes you for doing so.

If you’re not supposed/allowed to use it as a stationary power station; don’t advertise that use case as a selling point.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

I’m honestly asking- what would a practical non-stationary use for such a thing be?

Darkassassin07 ,
@Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca avatar

The only thing that came to mind is charging cordless tool batteries between job sites. Most other things you’d want mobile usually has a 12v alternative, if not being explicitly designed for travel.

It really is a stupid limitation, and I’m mostly sure it’s there just as an excuse to not payout warranty claims.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

I’m guessing I’m not the only one who immediately heard Dead Kennedys upon reading that.

I’m also guessing the reasons are similar.

Reverendender , (edited )

Yes, we need the least functional, least capable, most failure prone, most brutalist vehicle possible. For community engagement.

EDIT: Also the most dangerous to both occupants and especially pedestrians.

MehBlah ,

Its just like the cars they drew when they were in grade school.

thesohoriots ,

With the very crayons they ate

BleatingZombie ,

You’re talking as if they were ever able to graduate elementary school. The last time I saw police near an elementary school they were too scared to go in

shalafi ,

community engagement

OK, I’ll argue for the cops on this one. Just this once!

Community engagement is a real thing, gets people talking to cops who otherwise wouldn’t. And that can be a positive experience all around.

For example; The Tulsa cops had a bitchin’ (my 80s coming out) Corvette Stingray they showed off at the fair and every other chance they had. They had quite an audience gathered around, talking about the car at first and then asking questions about LE.

Idea being, it’s not supposed to be a regular cruiser.

TheWeirdestCunt ,

At least Stingrays look good, I don’t think anyone’s gonna be crowding around a cybertruck asking about it’s specs

Aidinthel ,

The YouTube channel Throttle House did a road trip with the cybertruck and they found that a lot of people actually were curious about it.

youtu.be/xNE-NyaYBcg?si=1CS2DxHsocEYc0b- (around 24:15)

For all it’s flaws, you can’t deny it looks different from all the other cars around, and most people aren’t online enough to have an opinion about Musk and his bullshit, so to them it’s just an interesting looking car.

todd_bonzalez ,
@todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee avatar

a lot of people actually were curious about it.

I mean, sure, if a Cybertruck parked next to me somewhere, I’d probably take a close look and talk to the owner if they were around. I’m curious as much as anyone.

I don’t have high expectations, and I’m not interested in owning one, but I’d still check it out.

But that’s just because these cars are rare and novel. If anything, the questions I’d ask would be tilted towards figuring out just how shitty a car it is.

If the police are roaming around in them, they become less novel, and generally speaking people aren’t usually interested in approaching random cops for conversations. People who socialize around cars usually aren’t a big fan of the cops.

most people aren’t online enough to have an opinion about Musk and his bullshit

I don’t understand this point. Not only does Elon Musk’s bullshit appear regularly on boomer tv stations, but you don’t have to be very online to get exhausted with Musk content. It’s not exactly niche content, he owns Twitter and is constantly attracting media attention with dumb stunts. You have to go out of your way to avoid hearing about him.

to them it’s just an interesting looking car.

Anyone interested enough in cars to be influenced by what kind of car the cops drive, is someone likely informed enough to know that the Cybertruck is a misengineered lemon of a car.

dev_null ,

To car people. To other people it can be a “generic fancy car”, while the Cybertruck can be something unusual that no other car looks alike. Can’t get everyone.

Reverendender ,

Your logic is sound

todd_bonzalez ,
@todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee avatar

Buddy, every police department with a flashy sports car has the same story.

Let me know how many facts I get right about it:

  1. You learned about it as a teenager because the police came to your school to show it off.
  2. You lived in a mostly white suburban town.
  3. The car had anti-drug messages on it.
  4. The car was confiscated from a drug dealer, and transferred to the police department through civil asset forfeiture.
  5. The “drug dealer” was a Black man who was caught with some arbitrary amount of weed that forces baseless “intent to distribute” charges.
Wrench ,

Ok. They could put police lights on a weiner mobile too. That would get a ton of community engagement. But for some reason I can’t put my finger on, they have chosen a very expensive tiny dick toy instead.

pivot_root ,

You’re forgetting the most important part of the Cybertruck for those in the club: danger to pedestrians and non-Cybertruck civilians.

todd_bonzalez ,
@todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee avatar

I actually love brutalist architecture, but the Cybertruck is fucking nasty.

nilloc ,

Yeah, brutalist and brutal are different. The cyber truck is a fucking stupid design that will hurt people far more than most vehicles (big dumb truck hoods not withstanding).

They aren’t even going to be able to sell them anywhere that has reasonable pedestrian safety laws. CA needs to pass some and kill the fucking thing, not give them to cops who already want to kill anyone who makes them nervous.

NOT_RICK ,
@NOT_RICK@lemmy.world avatar

These the same kind of cops that vote solidly republican because they “hate government waste”?

Aidinthel ,

It’s not hypocrisy when you understand that “waste” is conservative for “helps the poor and/or minorities”

homesweethomeMrL ,

Also they have no shame. And, don’t know what hypocrisy means.

cheese_greater ,

Do ya one better:

waste

something that doesn’t benefit me or doesn’t solely benefit me

—conservatives

Aidinthel ,

Except that they love policies that only benefit rich people who don’t care about them.

girlfreddy OP ,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.

Bremmy ,

“Devout Republicans”

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