The Irvine Police Department recently bought a $150,000 Tesla Cybertruck to promote its D.A.R.E. drug outreach program, saying it’s meant to draw kids’ attention. But critics argue it's unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money.
Irvine is among the few remaining California cities that still utilize Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), which used to be popular across schools nationwide, points out LA Times Columnist Gustavo Arellano.
Irvine PD says the Cybertruck will only be used for show, he reports, and it’s not a new tactic.
“This is something that they've been doing for the past 40 years. In 1980s, they tricked out those old ‘80s pickup trucks with the oversized grill in the front and then the camper in the back. During the Chrysler PT era, those cars that had that old-school look, Irvine PD bought one of those to use as their show car. … During the aughts, they had one of those Kia Souls, those really boxy ones. So it must be working for them, because they're continuing this tradition now with the Tesla truck.”
Meanwhile, critics are extremely upset. One is arguing that Elon Musk has been advocating for Donald Trump to get reelected, “so they're wondering why the Irvine PD would align itself with a company owned by a man like that.”
While the price of the Cybertruck is six figures, Irvine has the money, Arellano notes. “This is not a place where the police department is begging for money from the public at large. … Also, a lot of police departments have been criticized in recent years for buying vehicles and other equipment from the military, from the wars that we have fought over the past 20 years. But this is not the case.”
He adds, “This is just Irvine PD saying, ‘Hey, this is this goofy tradition we have. It's ultimately about getting our police officers into schools with a car that's going to be a conversation starter with kids. And then from there, we could give them a message of: Bullying is not cool, drugs are not cool. But you know what's cool? A Tesla police truck.’”