- South Pasadena Police Fleet Will Go All-Electric
- The fleet will consist of 20 electric vehicles, including 10 Tesla Model Ys and 10 Model 3s.
- The project will cost the city $1.85 million.
Even police cars are switching to electric vehicles.
On Monday, the South Pasadena Police Department in California announced that this was the first time US police car fleet will be all-electric.
The part will be completely replace gasoline powered vehicles with EV.
South Pasadena Police Tesla Electric Vehicle – Photo via City of South Pasadena Facebook fan page
ONE fleet of 20 Tesla cars will become the department’s newest police cars. The department will purchase 10 Tesla Model Ys for patrol duty and 10 Model 3s for detective and administrative duties. Images of the electric police cars were posted to Facebook by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and shared with City of South Pasadena Fan Page.
UP.FITa division of tuning company Tesla Unplugged Performance, will upgrade Teslas for patrol and police missions.
Tesla Cybertruck Next Generation Patrolled by UP.FIT
The news from Pasadena comes shortly after the Irvine Police Department announced it would soon implement Tesla Cybertruck deliverywill also be upgraded by UP.FIT to serve police duties.
A bank 34 electric chargers has been installed at South Pasadena City Hall to ensure vehicles are charged. More chargers are planned for police stations, fire stations, and all will be backed up by solar systems with battery storage to ensure power during outages.
“This transition reflects the city’s vision for a sustainable future based on both sound financial management and environmental stewardship,” said South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer.
Zneimer said the city council supports the decision to create a “21st century police force.”
“Moving to these vehicles gives the department the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art fleet,” said South Pasadena Police Chief Brian Solinsky.
City staff expect the transition to save about $4,000 per vehicle in energy costs, with even greater savings in vehicle maintenance. The EV fleet is expected to cost at least half the cost per mile of today’s gasoline-powered vehicles.
More than half of the project’s funding comes from partners. The Clean Transportation Fund from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Board will contribute nearly $500,000 to the program. About $530,000 in labor costs will be paid by Southern California Edison under its Charge Ready program. The Clean Power Alliance’s Power Ready program is providing the solar and battery storage systems at no cost. The city said its net cost for The project will be $1.85 million.includes the cost of an EV charger and Tesla rental.
Historically, police departments have wanted to electrify their fleet But note that there are limited vehicle options to do so. Cost is most often cited as the main issue.
