South Pasadena first city in US to replace entire police fleet with Teslas
The city will be leasing 10 Model Y and 10 Model 3 Tesla vehicles for 60 months.
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- On Friday, a committee with the Air Quality Management District approved a nearly $500,000 grant for the city of South Pasadena to swap out its entire police fleet for Teslas.
It's a part of an infrastructure project that was approved by the city council last year.
"Some of them have K-9 capabilities, they'll be utilized for both the patrol and the detective administratives," said Deputy City Manager Domenica Megerdichian. "The vehicles are undergoing up fitting."
The city will be leasing 10 Model Y and 10 Model 3 Tesla vehicles for 60 months.
Other police departments in the nation have made the switch to use some Teslas, like in Falmouth, Massachusets and Fremont, California.
Megerdichian said the city saw Tesla as the best fit to convert to electric vehicles.
"We looked at a number of options and many of our fleet are at end of life or nearing end of life," said Megerdichian.
The city's infrastructure plan also includes installing more electric vehicle charging stations, both for the city and for public use. That plan was made possible through a partnership with Southern California Edison and is set to be finished by the end of 2024.
"It's actually part of our vision statement that we are committed to an environmentally stable future," said Megerdichian.
According to the city, residents can see some of the new police Tesla units patrolling the streets in the next month or so.
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