The police chief of Indiana’s Bagersville Police Department has revealed just how much cheaper it is for the force to use a Tesla Model 3 compared to a Dodge Charger Pursuit.
Taking to social media, Bagersville Police Department chief Todd Bertram shared an image that shows the running costs of a Model 3 SR+ police car over the past 12 months compared to a Charger used by the same department. All up, the Tesla recorded $6,755 fewer running costs than the Dodge.
https://twitter.com/ToddBertram1/status/1277697872088137729
A table of figures reveals that gas is by far the biggest cost of running the Charger Pursuit. On most months, fuel costs varied between $300 and $500, but in December 2019, reached as high as $706. Additionally, the car had a total of seven oil changes over the 12 month period and a handful of maintenance costs. Most of these came in April 2020, when the department paid $1,935 to keep the Charger on the road. All up, the department spent $7,580 on the car over a 12-month period.
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As for the Tesla Model 3 SR+, it had a grand total of zero dollars worth of maintenance, with the only money spent being on electricity. On average, the department spent between $50 and $70 per month on electricity, although the electricity bill did reach as high as $125 in December 2019. Cumulatively, it cost $825 to run the Tesla for a year, a saving of $6,755 over the ICE-powered Dodge.
While recently speaking with TheTeslaLife show on YouTube, Bertram said it cost approximately $14,000 more to buy the Tesla than a new Charger Pursuit, meaning it will take 24 months for the department to actually break even and start saving money.