News
Tesla gets its first negative review from a police force standpoint
Tesla vehicles have been adopted by several police forces across the United States, and they have widely been met with positive reviews, mainly driven by cost savings and performance advantages.
However, one department has found the Tesla fleet to be less than ideal, even going as far as saying “(they) do not appear to the be the ‘patrol cars of the future.’”
In 2019, the Menlo Park, California City Council voted 3-2 to adopt a Sustainable Fleet Policy in 2020. The Model Y Long Range was chosen as the vehicle for the Menlo Park Police Department, beating out the Ford Mustang Mach-E and some other EVs.
Three units make up the EV portion of the Menlo Park Police Fleet.
Teslas need to be outfitted and modified for police use. Lights, sirens, seats, specialized seatbelts, communications equipment, a gun rack, window guards, and ballistic door panels are all equipped to make it a full-fledged law enforcement vehicle.
Tesla Model Y showcased at Menlo Park Police employee appreciation event
Outfitting a Tesla Model Y was roughly $12,700 more expensive than a Ford Explorer Hybrid, and the difference when also factoring in the initial cost of the vehicle came to $25,355, a 33 percent increase for the Tesla compared to the Ford.
Other police departments have canceled out the difference in initial cost after just a year of operation.
Officers also said the “small interior space” and “smart car” features, along with the low vehicle profile all made things more difficult.
Space Constraints
In terms of space constraints, after the vehicle is outfitted for patrol use, there is a “reduce amount of space for an officer in full patrol gear.” The report, released by the Menlo Park City Council, said:
“The width of duty belts and bulletproof vests do not fit well in the bucket seat and the height of the center console required larger officers to sit at an angle or with their sidearm pinned and inaccessible while in the vehicle. The equipment overhangs the passenger seat making it nearly unusable. This is not an immediate issue, as the current patrol operations do not deploy two officers in every vehicle, but would limit the ability to transport personnel or change operations in the future. In particular, the passenger seat space would not allow training officers to comfortably sit next to a trainee for a 12-hour shift, preventing field training for new officers. The rear seats provide very little room for anyone detained or transported in the back of the car.”
“Smart Car” Challenges
The Menlo Park PD listed Autopilot interference, lighting controls, and proximity locking, sleep mode, and self-closing doors as disadvantages:
“The following “smart” features of the Teslas created challenges for patrol operations:
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- Autopilot interference: There is a delay when officers shift into drive; and on occasion the Teslas automatically stop when an officer attempts to pull off to the side of the road to approach vehicles or people.
- Lighting controls (tablet): Tesla does not allow direct access to the system; officers need to use a multistep touch screen process to follow standard practice to dim their lights upon approach at night.
- Proximity locking, sleep mode and self-closing doors: The car knows when the key is, or is not, present within an effective range. The cars will not lock if the key, or enabled smartphone, are near the vehicles and will conversely lock if the key or smartphone is away from the vehicle.”
According to Almanac News, Menlo Park’s local news, the City Council approved the purchase of a Chevrolet Blazer for a future Police vehicle. It appears the Department is just not set on the Tesla for police use.
“I am very proud that we tried the Teslas, and not everything works,” Betty Nash, a Council member, said. “I appreciate all the work that the police department did with working through all the bumps.”
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News
Tesla counters Norway’s VAT hike with dedicated consumer bonus
The move follows Tesla Norway’s stunning finish in 2025, where the company saw substantial sales during the final weeks of the year.
Tesla has rolled out a price incentive in Norway, effectively offsetting a notable VAT increase that hit electric vehicle buyers at the start of 2026.
The move follows Tesla Norway’s stunning finish in 2025, where the company saw substantial sales during the final weeks of the year.
A “Tesla bonus”
Once the VAT increase kicked in at the start of 2026, Tesla Norway’s sales cooled almost immediately, as noted in a CarUp report. Tesla’s response was swift, with the electric vehicle maker rolling out what it calls a “Tesla bonus.”
This bonus effectively cuts prices by up to 50,000 kronor across eight model variants. All versions of the Tesla Model Y qualify for the incentive, along with most Tesla Model 3 trims, save for the base entry-level model.
This means that for Tesla Norway’s best-selling vehicles, the bonus effectively restores pricing to pre-VAT levels. This blunts the impact of the new tax and makes Tesla’s vehicle offerings competitive again in Europe’s most EV-saturated market.
Stabilizing demand
In addition to the “Tesla bonus,” the electric car maker is also offering a promotional interest rate for up to three years, with terms varying by model. The incentive applies to orders placed between January 9 and March 31, 2026, with delivery required by the end of the first quarter.
The stakes are high in Norway, where electric vehicles dominate new-car registrations. From the vehicles that were sold in 2025, 96% of new cars sold were fully electric. And from this number, Tesla and its Model Y made their dominance felt. This was highlighted by Geir Inge Stokke, director of OFV, who noted that Tesla was able to achieve its stellar results despite its small vehicle lineup.
“Taking almost 20% market share during a year with record-high new car sales is remarkable in itself. When a brand also achieves such volumes with so few models, it says a lot about both demand and Tesla’s impact on the Norwegian market,” Stokke stated.
Elon Musk
SpaceX gains favor as Pentagon embraces Musk-style defense reform
The remarks highlighted Musk’s improving relationship with the White House, as well as SpaceX’s growing role in U.S. defense.
SpaceX emerged as a clear beneficiary of the Trump administration’s renewed push to accelerate military innovation, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth openly praised Elon Musk’s private space enterprise during a visit to the company’s Starbase launch site in Texas.
The remarks highlighted Musk’s improving relationship with the White House, as well as SpaceX’s growing role in U.S. defense.
Hegseth embraces Elon Musk’s pace
Speaking at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Brownsville, Texas, Hegseth criticized what he described as a “risk-averse culture” among traditional defense contractors and called for faster innovation modeled after Musk’s approach. He confirmed that the Department of Defense plans to integrate Musk’s Grok AI platform into Pentagon systems, which is part of the administration’s efforts to make the U.S. military an “AI-first warfighting force.”
Hegseth stated that the Pentagon intends to deploy AI models across both classified and unclassified networks, signaling a willingness to push past earlier efforts to limit military use of artificial intelligence. His comments aligned closely with President Donald Trump’s recent call for a $500 billion increase in defense spending, Bloomberg News noted. Trump has also warned major contractors that slower production and shareholder-focused practices could put future contracts at risk.
While Hegseth criticized legacy defense firms, SpaceX was held up as an example of how aggressive timelines, vertical integration, and iterative development could reshape defense strategies. “We need to be blunt here; we can no longer afford to wait a decade for our legacy prime contractors to deliver a perfect system. Winning requires a new playbook. Elon wrote it with his algorithm: question every requirement, delete the dumb ones and accelerate like hell,” Hegseth said.
SpaceX’s expanding defense role comes into focus
SpaceX has become one of the U.S. government’s most important aerospace partners. The company holds roughly $4 billion in NASA contracts to develop Starship into a lunar lander, while also serving as a key launch provider for sensitive national security payloads using its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
During the visit, Musk highlighted that his ambitions extend beyond defense contracts, reiterating long-term goals of interplanetary travel and eventual exploration beyond the solar system. Still, the optics of the event reinforced how closely SpaceX’s capabilities now align with U.S. strategic priorities.
The appearance also marked another step in Musk’s political rehabilitation after a public falling-out with the White House last year. Since leaving his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has gradually reengaged with the administration, reconnecting with U.S. President Donald Trump during slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s tribute and attending events at the White House. Trump’s also recently suggested that Starlink could help restore internet access in Iran.
Tesla has launched a new Model Y configuration in the “Premium” trim, and it comes with three highly requested features that have launched in markets outside of the U.S. and in other trims.
Tesla announced on Monday night that it has officially launched the Model Y Premium in a seven-seat configuration, which also comes standard with a 16″ touchscreen and black headliner, both of which are featured in the Model Y Performance trim.
The seven-seat configuration is highly requested by consumers and helps fill out the more spacious SUV offering that the lineup has missed outside of the Model X, which prices out many consumers. This new upgrade only costs $2,500 extra for all three features, bringing the cash price to $48,990.
This also comes with the larger 16” touchscreen! pic.twitter.com/aiAxWUTKZa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The move to add the seven-seat configuration with the black headliner and additional screen size is a welcome addition, as many Tesla fans have asked the company to come out with an SUV with more seating capacity. Although it is not a full-size SUV, the additional seating will certainly attract some buyers with bigger families.
It appears the third row is slightly more spacious than the past iteration of the seven-seat Model Y, which was available in the previous design pre-Juniper:
Credit: Tesla
However, it definitely still appears to be pretty cramped in terms of legroom. It will definitely be a seating arrangement for smaller passengers, mostly reserved for children.
The other two upgrades are the black headliner, which was launched in other markets and in the Model Y Performance. Many owners have wanted this change, and Tesla listened, but is only offering it with the seven-seat configuration. It also has a larger 16″ touchscreen, also present in the Model Y Performance exclusively:
Credit: Tesla
It is a nice touch to add these highly requested features to the all-electric crossover, which was the best-selling vehicle in the world for the third consecutive year.
Tesla counters Norway’s VAT hike with dedicated consumer bonus
SpaceX gains favor as Pentagon embraces Musk-style defense reform
