“It’s all about the money:” US town saves $80,000 a year by switching to electric police vehicles

Over the past 5 years the Bargersville Police Department have traded the majority of their patrol vehicles to Teslas. Bargersville Police say their fleet of 13 Teslas is saving the town $US80,000 a year.

“Money, it’s all about the money” Bargersville Police Chief Todd Bertram told WRTV. “Yeah it was a risk in the very beginning, but it’s proven now.

“It’s working, it saves a lot of money and I have to think there’s a lot of agencies in the country that are like mine that it would work for.”

Bertram says the town used the savings to hire two new officers. One of the new officers, Cody St. John, says he much prefers the Tesla to the diesel option.

“It took a little getting used to, but now if I have to get a tire replaced or something [on the Tesla] and I’m in a gas [loan] car again, I can’t wait to get my car back.”

The Bargersville Police Department still has 6 diesel cars in its fleet. Bertram says the diesels burn through about $US2,900 a month in fuel. Meanwhile the monthly electricity bill to keep the 13 Teslas charged comes to just $US600. On a per vehicle basis that’s $483 per month for the ICE vehicle compared to just $46 for the Tesla – a tenfold reduction in fuel costs.

In a post on X, EV journalist Sawyer Merritt says switching their entire US police fleet to electric could save $US1.6 billion per year in fuel savings alone.