The Cybertruck could make a great police vehicle due to its acceleration, durability and efficiency
Oracle
Tesla's Cybertruck, now recognized as one of the most American-made vehicles, is catching the eye of law enforcement. This should not be a surprise considering some of the highlight videos of the vehicle during the delivery event. You have to admit RoboCop stepping out of a Cybertruck would look pretty natural.
Texas Police Department Considering the Cybertruck
Rosenberg, about two hours away from Giga, Texas, is considering upgrading their police vehicle fleet. The police department posted a picture of one of their vehicle beside a Cybertruck and wrote: What do you think @elonmusk… will the Cybertruck make an excellent police vehicle? It’s still hard to find new vehicles to replenish our older police units. Should we make the change in 2024? Of course, Musk responded with the 100% emoji.
Spotted out in the wild.
What do you think @elonmusk… will the #Cybertruck make a good police vehicle? It’s still hard to find new vehicles to replenish our older police units. Should we make the change in 2024? pic.twitter.com/WRlZWiSSK7
It’s already well documented that Cybertruck can withstand bullets and arrows, go faster than many top-end sports cars, and has offroad capabilities and lots of storage space. This stainless steel beast aligns perfectly with the demanding requirements of modern policing. Its adoption by police forces would be a forward-thinking move, signaling a shift towards more sustainable, efficient, and locally sourced equipment in law enforcement.
Transitioning to electric vehicles like the Cybertruck poses particular challenges for police departments, including initial costs. However, forces across North America have been adding Model Ys to their fleet, recognizing the long-term benefits - such as lower operational costs, reduced carbon footprint, and support for the American economy. Another snag in the plan would be the waiting list; it’s already over a million, and with production pegged at 200,000 to 250,000 a year, it will be long before police fleets can be turned over to Cybertrucks. It’s possible they can work around this with a special deal with Tesla for Foundation series trucks.
A Symbol of American Resilience and Innovation
Adopting the Cybertruck would be evidence of the technological advancements of American manufacturing and a significant morale booster, demonstrating faith in national capabilities and innovation. It represents a fusion of cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainable practices, showcasing a new direction in public service vehicle procurement.
Cybertruck’s Monroney sticker states that 65% of its components are US/Canadian-made. This puts Cybertruck far ahead of most other pickup trucks that may pop to mind as American-made products.
Company, Truck
US/Canada Parts
Honda, Ridgeline
70%
Tesla, Cybertruck
65%
Dodge, Ram 1500
61%
Toyota, Tundra
55%
Nissan, Titan
45%
GMC, Sierra
37%
Ford, F-150 (ICE)
32%
Chevy, Silverado
31%
Ford, F-150 (EV)
24%
This intense focus on domestic manufacturing is not just about creating superior vehicles but also about energizing the American economy and job market. Tesla's approach, emphasizing local sourcing and production, sets a new standard in the automotive sector, particularly for government and public service use.
The consideration of Tesla's Cybertruck by the Rosenberg Police Department and potentially other law enforcement agencies marks a pivotal moment in the integration of American manufacturing and public service. This move could set a trend for different departments, heralding a future where sustainability, performance, and national pride are critical factors in selecting vehicles for law enforcement.
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Back in 2023, Tesla put together a rather unique Supercharger site idea - one with a CyberCanopy. This canopy is intended to provide solar power for Supercharging, helping to reduce the impact on the local grid while also providing a futuristic and Cybertruck-themed location that would set it apart.
Unfortunately, the plans never moved beyond the filing stage. Instead, Tesla opened a standard-looking Supercharger at the same Canton, Massachusetts location. However, the site is still well-situated just off the highway and benefits from natural tree cover in the parking area.
However, Tesla is at it again with a concept for another CyberCanopy with RGB lighting. Thanks to MarkoRP for spotting this. No April Fool’s this time.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. - Max de Zegher
CyberCanopy 2
This second Supercharger with CyberCanopy is set for Roswell, New Mexico, at the Whataburger in town. Featuring just eight stalls, this will be one of Tesla’s smaller Supercharger sites, but for what it lacks in size, it makes up for it in uniqueness. The charging stalls are covered from the rain by a futuristic, Cybertruck-themed canopy, which will have solar panels installed on the top of it.
According to the plans, the CyberCanopy boasts 20.88kW of solar panels on its roof, providing shelter from the elements while also providing some power back to the grid.
RGB Lighting
At nighttime, the Supercharger will make a big statement. Tesla intends to light the long edges of the canopy, which will not only look amazing, but it’ll actually make finding the Supercharger easier in a large parking lot.
The lighting coming off the edge of the canopy reminds us a lot of the lightbar on the Cybertruck and now the new Model Y. It’s definitely the direction Tesla is moving for all their models, so expect all future models to have it, including the new Roadster and the next-gen model.
Tesla’s Max de Zegher also took to X after the plans for the new Supercharger were found and shared the image above. He stated that Tesla wants to build a few cool Superchargers that will be worth stopping at, even if they’re out of the way a little bit. So it seems like this isn’t just a concept, but an idea that Tesla wants to expand to several areas around the country or world.
We want to build a few Superchargers cool enough to be worthy of the trip itself. Wish we could have kept it under wraps for longer, but submittal was needed for Planning Approval. We can't hide anything from @MarcoRPi1! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/X2WaKDd408
This particular site doesn't have a Megapack or other form of energy storage, unlike the upcoming Harris Ranch Supercharger site in California. That means that Tesla won’t be storing the solar energy gained from this site, but instead will be either offsetting the immediate grid impact or serving energy back to the grid when the site isn’t actively charging.
Tesla will likely be incorporating V4 Superchargers, including both V4 posts and the new, more powerful V4 Cabinets, as the permit states that Tesla will be redesigning the site internally before beginning construction. For Cybertruck owners, 500kW charging may be around the corner.
We’re hoping Tesla continues to deploy these kinds of Supercharger sites around the world - they make a stylistic statement about Tesla’s futurism, like the Shell gas station that was upcycled into a Supercharger site earlier this year in Spain.
They also make a big impact for ownership because it is a far more comfortable charging experience when you stop at a site that’s shaded from the elements - and one that’s better for the environment with offset emissions.
It was a rainy April 1st when a news-searching author went on a delve into the depths of April Fools to find fact from falsehood. And while we found a lot of fantastic jokes, we also found some good ideas.
So, with a shoutout to MarcoRP on X, whose April Fool’s Joke gave us a good run for our money for a couple of minutes, we thought to ourselves - what would a Cybercab Charging Station / Cleaning Hub really look like?
Cybercab Wireless Charging Sites
Now, before continuing, we’d like to point out that the image up top is a joke from Marco - it isn’t an accurate or real site map submission from Tesla. However, it gave us the impetus to think critically about what is required for a Robotaxi fleet, based primarily on the Cybercab, to be able to service a city.
Requirements
Tesla will likely need to charge a small fleet of Cybercabs at a single time and in a single place. That means that the site needs to be large enough to cover a major metro area while also still being compact enough to not cost too much money to build out.
In addition, we need to factor in charge times. The Cybercab is likely to launch with a battery around 50 kWh, which will result in a range of approximately 300 miles. With that much range, the average Cybercab may not need to charge more than once or at all during daytime shifts, so instead, most of the vehicles will charge overnight.
MarcoRP
Math and Charge Times
The overnight charging means that most of these vehicles could be charged slowly. When we did some back-of-the-napkin math last year, we determined that Tesla’s wireless charger will likely peak around 17 kW (for comparison, Tesla’s Wall Connector at 32 amps charges at about 7 kW). If we scale Tesla’s wireless charger down slightly to 10 kW, accounting for some energy loss and the potential size of the site, that means a Cybercab will be able to charge in about 5 hours.
Tesla’s upcoming V4 Supercharger unit can currently handle 1.5MW per cabinet, but this slower-speed charging is A/C, not DC, which means there is a step-down loss of about 3-5%. Let’s make that a comfortable 10% for any other overages, but we can estimate around 1.35MW of power. That 1.3MW will easily handle charging up to 100 Cybercabs at once - all wirelessly, using Tesla’s unique beam-forming and beam-steering technology to keep efficiency high at every single stall.
Within about 5 hours, a whole fleet of 100 Cybercabs could be charged overnight when electricity rates are cheaper and still be out in time for the morning commute.
While this is all just hypothetical, it really does make sense that Tesla will be establishing these sites that won’t require much space or a ton of energy.
Tesla recently curtained off a large section of the parking garage at Giga Texas, as well as some of their chargers on the eastern end of the facility, leading us to believe they may just be testing this at scale internally.
There’s a lot to look forward to with Tesla’s V4 Supercharger deployment coming this year and with Robotaxi launching in just a couple of months.