ATLANTA — An Atlanta News First station reports that police departments across the country have begun adding electric vehicles to their fleets.
According to the report, the Dodge Charger Pursuit, the gold standard among police cruisers, can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in around 6.4 seconds—but many electric vehicles can make that speed in half that time, potentially outrunning a police pursuit.
According to law enforcement testing, a 2024 Kia EV6 GT can reach 60 MPH in 3.2 seconds and has a higher top speed than a standard police car. The fastest Tesla models accelerate from zero to 60 MPH in well under three seconds. Several models, including the Rivian pick-up truck, can reach 60 MPH in two and a half seconds.
The concern among law enforcement is that when someone behind the wheel of one of those super-fast EVs chooses to flee, officers driving a gas-powered pursuit vehicle may be outmatched in acceleration.
And those concerns are not unfounded — controlled tests have shown electric vehicles easily outrunning even state troopers.