Greenfield PD adds Tesla police vehicles to cut costs and go green

The city of Greenfield, California is adding three Tesla Model Y vehicles to its police fleet. While Teslas are polarizing vehicles, Greenfield Police Chief Guillermo Mixer noted that Teslas are actually safer, faster, and more affordable than their combustion-powered counterparts.

The Greenfield Police Chief praised the city’s new Tesla police vehicles. “It is a very safe car, has a five-star crash rating so it’s superior in safety than the other vehicles out there. It’s faster than any other vehicle out there,” Mixer noted in a comment to KSBW Action News. 

The Police Chief also noted that the Tesla police cars are better for the environment, and they are also more affordable. The city acquired Tesla Model Y units that are worth about $50,000 to start, but after federal and state incentives, the vehicles cost just about $42,000. In comparison, a new Ford Explorer, which is also used by the city’s police force, costs about $55,000.

And when it comes to operating costs, the Tesla police vehicles are simply leagues better than their combustion-powered counterparts. Mixer noted that the police department expects to save about $8,000 to $10,000 a year on fuel costs alone.

“We’re projecting to save between 8 to $10,000 a year. That’s on fuel. We don’t need oil changes, we don’t need transmission changes, the fluid changes, radiator fluid. So it’s just going to be tires and brakes,” the Police Chief noted. 

Teslas are polarizing vehicles, and a look at the Greenfield Police Department’s Facebook page would show this. As could be seen in a video posted about the department’s new Teslas, numerous community members expressed their frustration at the city supposedly wasting taxpayer money on dirty, overpriced cars that run out of battery easily. The Police Chief, for his part, defended the city’s decision to go with Tesla police vehicles. 

“They think, you know, ‘Hey, this is a luxury item’ and it’s actually cheaper to buy this vehicle than to buy a Ford Explorer. It’s a little bit more to upfit them because of the wheels and suspension that we’re adding on to make it safe and pursuit capable, but in the long run, it’s gonna save money and we need vehicles to begin with, so there’s no getting around it. We’re going to save money on our fleet,” Mixer noted. 

Check out a video of Greenfield’s new Tesla fleet in the video below. 

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