A Close Look at Tesla's Model Y as a Police Cruiser [Video]

The Model PD saves police departments thousands of dollars per year

Edward Pennington Calderhead

When it comes to police vehicles, performance, reliability, and durability are non-negotiable. Recognizing the need for a more modern, sustainable solution, Model PD has converted Tesla's Model Y into fully equipped, robust police cruisers.

According to Zack Wilson, a spokesperson for the company, they considered other electric vehicle manufacturers. Still, Tesla was the clear winner, stating, "The reason we're sticking with Tesla is that from what we've seen, Tesla is the only company that can meet the demand." Not only that. But the Model Y is the safest car on the planet.

Modifications Made

The Model Y police cruiser sees a host of changes that elevate it from a sleek consumer vehicle to a reliable law enforcement workhorse. The typical glass roof has been replaced with a carbon fiber one, providing the strength required to house police lights and dome lights. Durability is a crucial factor here, with the interior upholstery being swapped out for a more resistant material to withstand the rigors of police work, including the wear and tear from handcuffs and guns.

A keyboard has been added to the bottom of the screen, and with one press of a button, the display will switch from the Tesla screen to a Windows interface for police officers to access law enforcement information.

To ensure the safe and secure transport of suspects, the back seats have been converted to a vinyl surface, complete with a plexiglass enclosure. In an interesting shift, the standard Tesla wheels have been replaced with traditional police steel wheels, topped off with Goodyear police-rated tires.

Outperforming the Competition

Compared to a traditional police vehicle such as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, the Model PD's Tesla Model Y-based cruiser presents some compelling advantages. The Model PD boasts an impressive 131/117 MPG equivalent in city/highway driving, compared to Ford's 23/24 MPG. Additionally, it delivers a powerful 384 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque, outshining Ford's 285 horsepower and 322 lb-ft of torque.

The Tesla-based cruiser also offers significant savings in terms of operational costs. Based on 20,000 miles per year, the Model PD's estimated annual electric cost is just $605, compared to a whopping $5,085 for fuel in the Ford. Furthermore, the estimated yearly maintenance cost for the Model PD is a modest $350, starkly contrasting the Ford's $1,300.

The Future of Policing with Tesla

Model PD plans to expand its portfolio by converting Tesla Cybertruck into a police vehicle. If the Model PD's transformation of Model Y is anything to go by, the Cybertruck could revolutionize policing in terms of resilience, functionality, and sustainability.

The Model PD's transformation of the Tesla Model Y into a fully equipped police cruiser embodies a significant stride in the evolution of law enforcement vehicles. With its impressive performance stats, cost-efficiency, and commitment to sustainability, the Model PD shows that Tesla is not just meeting the demand - it's shaping the future of policing.

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The Best 3D Printed Tesla Accessories

Not a Tesla App

If you’ve got a 3D printer or know a friend who does, this article is for you. We’ve gathered some of the best 3D-printed Tesla accessories and toys for Tesla owners.

We’ll feature some utilitarian accessories for your Tesla and then cover some fun items later. The links provided are all to Prusa’s Printables website and are safe to visit and download.

As a note, mostly everything should be printed in either ASA, PETG, or ABS unless you’re planning to use them indoors. PLA won’t withstand the heat in your vehicle and will warp and break. There are some places you can use PLA without a worry, though, so we’ve gone ahead and made recommendations for each item.

Car Charging

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First on our list is a wall-mounted cable organizer that also fits the NACS adapter right in. We recommend using any filament for an indoor mount, but if you’re mounting outdoors and exposed to the sun, ASA or PETG are better choices. Be sure to choose a high infill percentage to keep the organizer sturdy.

Next up is for folks who need to regularly get their cable outside through their garage door. This garage door cable protector keeps the cable from getting squished when the garage door closes.

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There’s also this great holder for your J1772 adapter that lets it fit snugly in the door pocket. Tesla actually sells this product too, but you can just print your own instead.

Once again, use ASA or PETG due to sunlight and heat exposure.

Phone and Airpods Charging

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There are other accessories that could make charging your phone or wireless headphones easier. Most Teslas feature wireless phone chargers that fit most phones. However, if you’d like to charge your AirPods or a smaller phone, it may not work out so well. You can use these adapters to charge AirPods and Galaxy Buds.

There are even spacers for Tesla’s wireless charger to help position smaller phones in the correct spot. These may work okay in PLA if you don’t leave them exposed to the sun, but PETG is a better option.

Interior

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There are also plenty of functional utilities for the inside of your vehicle. The Model 3 and Model Y have large, open vents underneath the front seats to get conditioned air into the back. This vent cover adds a grate to the vents, preventing small things from falling side. It’s applicable for either the Model 3 (non-refresh) and the Model Y, also non-refresh. Any filament will do for this since it won’t be in direct sunlight.

If you need somewhere to hang some bags, here’s a bag hook for the Model Y. You’ll need a cargo shelf mount for this to attach to. Print it in PETG or ASA.

There’s also a variety of console trays to pick from. The author personally uses this center console tray with a J1772 slot, and this second one as the other console tray. If you’ve got a Model S or Model X instead, this console tray would work for you.

Tools & Etc.,

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One of the best tools for any owner with a hitch installed – a hitch tool. This tool makes it easy to open up the hitch cover. There are no recommendations on the filament here, but stronger is better.

Here’s another super tool if you don’t have one — a windshield washer fluid funnel. It can be difficult to fill up your washer fluid without spilling, so if you don’t already have a funnel, this could be a good option. You can print this in PLA and just leave it in the frunk, as even a little deformation won’t matter.

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Wheels

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If you have Tesla’s Aero covers but don’t use them year-round, this is a nice accessory to hang them on the wall. There are also other accessories to cover up the Aero center cap and lug nuts when you do use them. You can print the hangers in PLA, but you’ll absolutely want the center caps and lug nuts in ASA or ABS.

Fun Stuff

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Ok, now on to all the fun stuff. There are a ton of different Tesla models to print. There’s an RC Cybertruck (best in ABS) and a Cybertruck model kit card (PLA). If you’re up for something in between, you can check out this model kit instead, which bridges the gap.

There’s also wall art and a great Supercharger for your phone. You can print all these in anything you’d like.

There’s also a lot more available on Printables (or your site of choice) than the ones we’ve highlighted here. This is just a small tidbit of some of the cool and unique stuff that’s available.

If you have some other awesome ideas or have designed something yourself, let us know on social media.

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Tesla Software Update 2025.2 -- The Lesser Known Features (Undocumented Changes)

@TeslaNewswire

Another Tesla update has finished rolling out to the fleet and we once again have a list of undocumented features in this update. Tesla update 2025.2 was the first update of the year and it brought along features such as wiper improvements for the Cybertruck, support for the cabin radar, and third-party charger preconditioning.

However, other changes made it into the release as well but weren’t mentioned in the release notes. If you love following Tesla software changes or just want to be aware of all changes in your vehicle, these will help keep you updated.

Autopilot Warnings

Tesla has now carried over some of the updated warnings from FSD to regular Autopilot.

Warnings such as “Autopilot will not brake” when the accelerator pedal is actively pressed and others will now be presented at the top in a translucent rectangle, instead of near the bottom, where they can be easily missed.

Supercharger Notification

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After using a Supercharger, your vehicle will now display a notification with the total cost of the charging session. In addition to the cost, the alert will also display the location, total energy added, and the cost per kW/h.

This is a really nice addition as it brings the price of the charging session front and center when it matters most — as soon as you’re done charging. Previously, you could navigate to Controls > Charging to see the cost of charging.

Recommended Tire Pressure

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The Tire Pressure card on the Model 3 and Model Y will now show you the recommended tire pressure in the bottom left corner of the card. It continues to display the tire pressure reading for each wheel.

Service Mode

Max Bracco / X

As usual, Service Mode sees several improvements to make serving your vehicle easier.

Brake Burnishing: The Brake Burnish procedure parameters have been updated to reduce the need for coming to almost a complete stop during each cycle.

Legacy Model S and Model X only.

Charge Port Calibration: The charge port door calibration routine (PROC_CP_X_DOOR-SENSOR-CALIBRATION) and charge port latch calibration route (PROC_CP_X_LATCH-CALIBRATION) have been added to the Charging panel. Those routines are required to be run following the replacement of the charge port or charge port door.

All Model 3s and Model Ys.

Signal Viewer Panel: A new Signal Viewer panel is available to monitor multiple signal values live on a graph. If one or more of the signal values is unavailable, the graph will stop updating. To access the new panel, tap Tools > Signal Viewer.

All vehicles with AMD Ryzen.

Noise Recording Panel: To improve the user experience, the recording duration has been decreased to 30 seconds, and reliability of the download routine PROC_ICE_X_FETCH-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIO-RECORDS has been improved.

Cybertruck only.

Next Update

If you want to read about the official changes in this update, check out our release notes for 2025.2.

Tesla has now started pushing software update 2025.8, but it’s currently only going out to a very small segment of vehicles. It’ll soon go out to more owners in larger waves, but if you’re interested in seeing what’s coming take a look at our 2025.8 update release notes and the undocumented features we’re aware of so far.

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