LAPD Selects BMW Electric Cars Over Tesla, Says Such Vehicles Are 'patrol Cars Of The Future'

The Los Angeles Police Department has selected electric vehicles provided by German carmaker BMW for community outreach and other police business over California-based Tesla Motors Inc. , the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. BMW will lease 100 of its i3 all-electric plug-in vehicles to the LAPD, bringing the size of the police department's fleet to 200. The LAPD has tested Telsa's P85D, a variant of its Model S, over the past year, the paper reported. The BMW model is cheaper at about $42,000, or less than half the price of the Tesla model. In good news for Tesla, Police Chief Charlie Beck said the department will continue to work with BMW, Tesla and other carmakers to create a better electric vehicle. "We want to go to the next step," he said, according to the Times. "They will absolutely be the patrol cars of the future."