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Tesla Purchases Pay Off Three Years Later for Indiana PD

Bargersville Police Officer Jeremy Roll said the decision to use Teslas as patrol vehicles "turned out to be a really good one," as gas prices remain high. The department initially purchased the vehicles in 2019 in an effort to save on fuel.

July 7, 2022
1 min to read


The Bargersville Police Department is reporting savings from its Tesla Model 3 vehicles. One can be seen in this photo from 2019.[|CREDIT|]Image: Greater Indiana Clean Cities

In August 2019, the Bargersville, Indiana, Police Department became one of the first departments in the United States to implement the Tesla 3 model as a squad car. Today, the department says the investment is paying off.

Bargersville Police Officer Jeremy Roll told WXIN that the decision to use Teslas as patrol vehicles "turned out to be a really good one," as gas prices remain high. The department currently has seven Teslas and is getting two more this month. The department initially purchased the vehicles in an effort to save on fuel. In 2020, Police Chief Todd Bertram told Government Fleet that in its first year, the Tesla Model 3 saved the department $6,320 in fuel and maintenance costs compared to the gasoline-powered sedan the department traditionally purchases.

Roll told WXIN that the Teslas cost the department $60 per month, compared to the more than $550 the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles cost.

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