In September 2019, police in the small town of Bagersville, Indiana, was among the first to decide to purchase a Tesla Model 3. First, a first Model 3 came into the fleet as a replacement for a Dodge Charger (see photo), and even then three more were to follow to completely replace this combustion vehicle.
The Bagersville Police Department now has seven Teslas in use – and because the cost of gasoline is rising even faster than expected, two more are now to be added.
Tesla Model 3 saves more than expected
After almost a year with the first Tesla Model 3, the then chief of the Bagersville police calculated that the savings were even higher than expected. Among other things, he reported much lower repair costs than with Ford combustion engines. Combined with low spending on electricity instead of fuel, a 12-month review showed that the Tesla saved the police $6,320 .
That was slightly more than the previously estimated $6,000, so it’s no wonder the Bagersville Police Department has since purchased six more Model 3s, even more than the 2019 plan. One of their officials reported this to the Fox59 broadcaster and confirmed that the electric car investment was very worthwhile. In fact, two more Tesla Model 3s are scheduled to join the local police fleet next month.
Because when Bagersville first decided to switch to Tesla, it would cost $2.70 per gallon (a good 4.5 liters). Today the price in the state of Indiana is more than 5 dollars – by German standards that is still fantastically low, but for the USA it is a record level that has never even come close to being reached. In direct comparison, the Teslas can currently be charged by the police for $60 a month, while the combustion engines need fuel for $550.
Fuel price brings more electric car interest
For the Bagersville Police Department, the decision was clear – especially since, according to the Fox report, they have not had any range problems and, according to earlier information, the citizens reacted positively to the new electric cars.
Not all police authorities in the USA can be convinced of Tesla – the one in the city of Spokane in the state of Washington even decided against the more spacious Model Y for reasons of space. Overall, however, Bagersville is on trend: According to a Google analysis from the end of March, rising fuel prices have caused the number of searches for electric cars in the USA to increase sharply.
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