Tesla Model 3 replaces Dodge Charger for Bargersville Police, saving up to $6k/year of taxpayers’ money

Police Department of the Bargersville, IN has replaced a Dodge Charger with a Tesla Model 3 for a variety of reasons, the main ones being cost efficiency and environmental friendliness.

Bargersville PD aims to add four more Tesla Model 3 electric patrol vehicles to the fleet in the near future as well, according to a report by WishTV/News 8, the Police Chief says their Model 3 patrol car is one of the only ones obtained by any police department in the state or the country.

The Bargersville Police bought the Standar Range Plus variant for $39,900 (purchased before the price drop) and a spent an additional $12,00 on the charging infrastructure at the department’s building.

Standard Range Plus Model 3 has an estimated EPA range of 240 miles on a full charge, the Bargersville PD seems to have found it enough for the town’s patroling needs, the quick acceleration of the Tesla will also help in occaisional criminal pursuits.

Bargersville Police currently spends more than $8,000 on fuel, maintenance, and insurance on a Dodge Charger, with the adoption of a Model 3 EV, the town’s police estimate the savings to be up to ~$6,000/year and above $2ok per vehicle of taxpayers’ money over a 6-year timeframe.

The police department raised the following comparison chart between a Tesla Model 3 cruiser and a Dodge Charger patrol car which highlights the cost-effectiveness of the Model 3, for the first and second year the Dodge Charger costs less but the real benefits of having an electric police cruiser start from the 3rd year onwards.

Some more benefits of having a Tesla vehicle onboard the police fleet are no engine noise and the ability to pre-heat or pre-cool the car’s cabin remotely via the Tesla mobile app, a handy feature for harsh weather conditions.

Another benefit of having a quiet vehicle for the police was defined by a Bargersville police officer as:

Especially at nighttime, the sound of the cars when we’re trying to come up on something a little bit more discretely than what we would normally come up (in) during the daytime, it’ll help out with that. We have a lot of back alleys in the Old Town.

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