Folsom Police welcome Teslas to vehicle fleet

Matthew Nobert
·2 min read

(FOX40.COM) — After a multi-month pilot program, the Folsom Police Department has added a Tesla Model 3 and Model Y to their fleet of vehicles, according to the police department.

In August, the Folsom City Council approved a $108,838.28 purchase order for the two Teslas as part of the police department’s 2023-2024 vehicle purchase budget.

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Initially, the police department did not outline any uses for the two EVs and said they ” intend to assess the suitability of Tesla for future department use for as many fleet vehicles as possible.”

In Thursday’s release, the department said the EVs will be used by their Community Service Officers, who are non-sworn members of the police department.

The department highlighted some of the vehicles’ features including;
• Low maintenance costs
• Reduced fuel expenses
• Rapid accelerating and responsive handling
• Environmental sustainability

Along with adding cutting-edge tech to the police department’s fleet, the EVs will also help in meeting the California Air Resources Board zero-emissions vehicle regulations.

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The Folsom Police Department has been operating hybrid vehicles for a number of years, but these will be their first fully electric vehicles.

Folsom is not the first California city to add Teslas to its police fleet nor is it the first Sacramento-area city to do so either.

In September, the Auburn City Council in Placer County approved the purchase of a Model 3 for their police department at the cost of $53,352.05.

“It is initially going to be used as a command vehicle, meaning that the lieutenants will use this car and then probably in the future the Tesla will move in that same way,” Auburn Police Chief Ryan Kinnan said during the Sept. 11 meeting.

The Model 3 was purchased instead of a Chevrolet Tahoe due to a lack of inventory of more traditional police vehicles.

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