Bargersville Police Chief Todd Bertram may never get used to the attention he draws in his new patrol car.
But that is what happens when you drive a Tesla.
"I got a guy for speeding on (Ind.) 37 and all he wanted to talk about was the Tesla," Bertram said.
"During that same traffic stop, somebody honks and a guy's hanging out of his window with a phone taking video."
Bertram's been turning heads since August, when he started patrolling in the new Tesla Model 3 on the streets of his Johnson County town of about 7,700 residents.
Bargersville is the the first Indiana police department to put a Tesla patrol car on the streets and the first in the nation to use the Model 3. Police in Westport, Connecticut, have since added a Tesla Model 3.
For those not familiar with Teslas, this car is just different. There is no key. The vehicle comes to life after it connects with the driver's phone. The doors unlock by themselves. The seats adjust automatically.
Big changes for Bargersville: And big opportunities
There's no dashboard. No speedometer, odometer or oil-pressure gauge. There are no dials or buttons to control the heat, air conditioning, wipers or defroster.
Almost everything the driver needs is controlled and displayed on a large touch-screen computer tablet mounted to the right of the steering wheel.
A police radio, computer and other electronics that make this a patrol car are mounted on the center console, near the big, iPad-like tablet.
Costs less
One might think a fancy, all-electric vehicle would cost way more than a gasoline-powered cruiser, but not so fast. Bertram said the savings in fuel and maintenance more than even out over time.
At $39,500, the Tesla costs about $14,500 more than one of the department's Dodge Chargers, Bertram said. The Tesla doesn't need gas and never needs an oil change, so it costs less to operate.
Bertram crunched the numbers when he convinced town leaders that the Tesla would save money.
And so far, Bertram said, it has.
In fuel alone, he said the Tesla costs taxpayers about $300 a month less than a gas-guzzling Charger.
The department projected it'll spend $1,728 per year on electricity for the Tesla, compared to $7,125 per year on gas for a Dodge Charger.
Over six years, Bargersville believes the Tesla's lower maintenance and fuel costs will save about $21,000 compared to a Charger.
Every penny counts in this growing community with just 12 officers and 14 vehicles on its police force.
Bargersville's population exploded between 2005 and 2011. In 2019, the town added 167 single-family home building permits.
More growth is expected when Ind. 37 becomes I-69 linking Martinsville to Indianapolis. Bargersville is getting a large interchange when the new highway opens.
"I need to hire a couple guys at least in the next couple years," Bertram said. "So the goal was to have a few Teslas that would reduce the amount of use in the budget so we could put that back in and pay for their salaries."
Battery life
The downside to the Tesla is its battery, which needs to be recharged about every 250 miles. Tesla's website says the Model 3's battery range is 322 miles under optimal conditions.
This summer, Bertram said he was getting about 240 miles per charge in the Tesla, but that range dropped to about 170 miles in the winter when he needed to use the heater.
And you can't just fill up the tank like in a gas vehicle. When the battery drains, it takes about five hours to recharge.
That battery life was a problem recently for police in Fremont, California. In September, an officer driving a Tesla Model S had to drop out of a police chase because his battery was nearly depleted, according to the East Bay Times.
"I am down to six miles of battery on the Tesla so I may lose it here in a sec," Officer Jesse Hartman said over the police radio, according to the paper. "If someone else is able, can they maneuver into the number one spot?"
The chase was soon called off for traffic safety reasons, the paper reported. The officer in the Tesla was stranded. He didn't have enough juice to return to the station.
“I’ve got to try to find a charging station for the Tesla so I can make it back to the city,” Hartman said over the police radio, the East Bay Times reported.
Bertram said range is not an issue in his town of just 18 square miles.
He starts the day with a full charge. One glance at the Tesla's display lets him know exactly how much power is left. When IndyStar rode with him on a recent winter day, Bertram was about halfway through his 12-hour shift when his Tesla's battery was at 64%.
Extras
The Tesla, besides the fuel savings, comes with loads of extra features.
It has eight video cameras mounted around the vehicle that Bertram can use to record traffic stops.
It includes a "toy box" feature that does silly stuff, including a digital whoopee cushion that projects a fart noise from any seat in the car. Bertram told IndyStar he might use the whoopee cushion function when he transports an intoxicated person to the station.
There's Tesla's signature auto-pilot mode that uses those cameras and other sensors to drive semi-autonomously, keeping the car in its lane and slowing down when traffic slows.
This autopilot system has drawn scrutiny after several recent Tesla crashes, including one on I-70 in Indiana in December that killed an Arizona woman.
Bertram said he hardly ever uses autopilot.
Quiet quickness
Police cars need to be fast, and the Tesla is fast.
It goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. It has a top speed of 162 mph.
"When you're in a Dodge Charger and you're stomping it everybody's looking because it's screaming," Bertram said.
"This doesn't. You can get right in it. It makes no noise and it's gone."
This combination of quiet and quickness can be a little unnerving. The powerful electric engine is so quiet Bertram said, squirrels don't hear it coming.
"They just sit there in the middle of the road," he said.
Contact IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701 or vic.ryckaert@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.
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