A California police department bought a $153K Cybertruck. It won’t be used for patrols.

The blocky steel Cybertruck looked like it could’ve rolled in from a science fiction movie, but its destination Wednesday was a Southern California elementary school. When a police officer blared the $153,000 vehicle’s siren, dozens of children yelled, clapped and waved.

There was no emergency, just children excited to see the Irvine Police Department’s new kitted-out Tesla Cybertruck, equipped with a custom paint job, 35-inch tires and flashing lights that can be seen from every side of the vehicle.

Whether it will fulfill its intended purpose of teaching the kids to abstain from drugs and make smart decisions in life remains to be seen.

While the truck is capable of responding to emergencies - and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in fewer than three seconds - the Irvine Police Department doesn’t plan to use it for patrols. It will instead mainly be driven to Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) school events in an attempt to engage children.

Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesman for the Irvine Police Department, told The Washington Post that the Cybertruck has been a hit since it was unveiled Tuesday, prompting students to crowd officers for a closer look.

“It’s an opportunity for (people) to say, ‘Oh, man, that’s a Cybertruck. I’ve never seen one of those. I want to talk to that officer,’” Oldoerp said. “Our hope is that community interaction.”

The Irvine Police Department said in a news release that it has driven unusual vehicles to DARE events for more than three decades: monster trucks; pickup trucks painted in red, white and blue; and a Chrysler PT Cruiser with police lights attached to the roof.

Oldoerp said those cars helped attract him to officers as a child in Irvine in the 1980s and early 1990s. He developed relationships with officers at DARE events, he said, before volunteering with the department in high school.

“As a kid, you know, sometimes police are scary,” said Oldoerp, 45. “And I just remember being like, ‘Oh, wow, they’re like normal people.’”

In 1983, DARE was founded in a partnership between the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s public schools, where officers discouraged students from using drugs. But multiple studies in the 1990s and early 2000s found that DARE was ineffective, with one even suggesting that DARE made students more likely to experiment with drugs. Many departments dropped their DARE programs in subsequent years.

DARE has since broadened its mission, writing in tax filings in the mid-2010s that it aimed to teach “students good decision making skills to help them lead safe and healthy lives.”

That’s the approach the Irvine Police Department has employed with its four DARE officers, Oldoerp said, aiming to teach youths responsibility and to eat healthy and exercise.

In the spring, a police vehicle needed to be replaced from wear and tear, Oldoerp said, so employees began designing a Tesla Cybertruck that they hoped would look distinctive.

After purchasing the $132,363 truck, police contracted UP.FIT, a California-based company that customizes high-tech police vehicles, to put in emergency response features. It added an electrical system that allows drivers to use a computer, radios and a GPS device. Contractors attached a rifle mount under some seats. They also added a lighting system that provides a spotlight in the front and provides flashing lights to the roof, front, sides and back of the vehicle.

The sides of the car are engraved: “D.A.R.E.” and “IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY.” The finished product, with an almost cubist frame, cost $153,175.

The Ford police vehicles the department uses for patrols each cost about $116,000, Oldoerp said, and last for three to four years. Since the Cybertruck will mainly be used for DARE and community events, Oldoerp said, the department expects the electric vehicle to last for a decade and save thousands of dollars in gas money. However, the Tesla Cybertruck has been recalled five times since late last year due to malfunctions, and some owners have said their stainless-steel exteriors are difficult to keep clean.

Other police departments have added Teslas to their fleets recently, including one in South Pasadena, Calif., that replaced all of its vehicles with Teslas in July. The department went with the carmaker’s less flashy, more traditional Model Y and Model 3 sedans.

The Irvine Police Department unveiled its revamped Cybertruck in a video Tuesday to the tune of the main theme of “The Terminator.”

At elementary schools this week, Oldoerp said, students have been excited to see the Cybertruck and receive stickers featuring the vehicle’s design. On future trips, he said, officers will park the car outside of schools to eat lunch with students and allow them to inspect the Tesla.

On one visit Wednesday, more than two dozen children posed for a picture in front of the Cybertruck.

“DARE rocks!” they yelled.