Photo: Stuart Ungar
Three Tesla Model 3s at Berea Police Department in Kentucky saved more than $7,000 in just six months of operation, 23% more than expected. City officials acknowledge that electric vehicles are the future.
In late March, the Berea Police Department began operating three new Tesla Model 3s to be as environmentally neutral as possible and save taxpayers' money on the upkeep of vehicles. After six months, the expectations were not only met but were significantly higher. According to Mayor Bruce Fraley, the Model 3s saved about $7,000 over six months of operation, while fuel costs for gasoline vehicles were calculated based on last year's prices. He stressed that Tesla cars do not need any maintenance costs and the only fluid they need is for the windshield.
“They’re saving us money. I’ve already saved $7,000 this year, three vehicles, in fuel alone. And this is not even counting the increase in fuel. This is off of last year's fuel numbers,” Mayor Fraley said, according to WKYT via Drive Tesla Canada. “I'm saving the taxpayers money, because the reality is there’s no maintenance. The only fluid on this thing is windshield washer fluid.”
“What we’re doing here in Berea, is we’re trying to think ahead of the game. We’re trying to say, ‘you know what, we know its coming down the line, let’s start slow,’” Berea Police Chief Eric Scott said. “We’ll do two or three cars at a time.”
City officials believe electric vehicles are the future and many departments simply need more time to learn the cost of using them for their purposes. ”We have meter readers who have expressed an interest, we have an IT Director has expressed in interest in having an electric vehicle,” Mayor Fraley said. “So, not only the police department, but our codes and planning, that’s when it’s mostly local, our public works department that is mostly local if they don’t have to have a big truck. I think electric vehicles are something that will be workable in the near term.”
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
