The Anaheim Police Department inquired about how to get a Tesla Cybertruck for its fleet before any other police department as early as February, recently leaked emails show. That’s despite the $100,000 truck likely serving no law enforcement purposes whatsoever.
According to the emails viewed by 404 Media, the department wanted a Cybertruck for no other reason than to be the first department in the country with one. In the email, Anaheim Police Sergeant Jacob Gallacher wrote to James Hedland of Tesla law enforcement modification company UP.FIT:
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.
When confronted over the email, Gallacher told 404 it was a “joke” but doubled down on the department wanting to get a Cybertruck for “community engagement.”
“We would, but it’s not necessarily from a patrol perspective,” he told 404. Cost seems to be the biggest obstacle in the department obtaining one. “Until the price point on those drop, I can’t imagine them being used in a patrol function,” Gallacher said.
While the Cybertruck doesn’t appear to be ready for police duty just yet, a number of Southern California police departments use Teslas for on duty use. Anaheim is one of them with six Model Ys in the fleet. South Pasadena is another, though that city looks to replace its entire gas powered police car fleet with Teslas eventually.
Police department often justify purchasing flashy vehicles for “community engagement.” The supercars of the Dubai, for instance, aren’t out patrolling the streets.