Tesla police cruisers bring huge savings to Bargersville, Indiana

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The town of Bargersville, Indiana’s experiment with Tesla police vehicles seems to be quite successful. As per recent reports, the town is saving money thanks to its fleet of Tesla police vehicles, which are incredibly cheap to run and maintain. 

As noted in a Police 1 report, Bargersville Police Chief Todd Bertram was tasked five years ago to cut costs in his department so the town could hire two more police officers. At the time, the Bargersville Police Department’s biggest expenses outside officer salaries were the maintenance and fuel expenses of its police cruisers.

The Police Chief then explored options to lower the town’s expenses for its police fleet. Bertram’s idea was to switch the town’s combustion-powered police fleet to all-electric vehicles. “That’s how it got started. I took the savings to (the town council), and they let me hire the two cops,” the Police Chief noted. 

Bertram’s idea worked, and since then, the town has added a dozen more Tesla Model 3 police cars to its fleet. The Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable vehicle, so the purchase costs of the vehicles themselves are not too high. And when it comes to maintenance and fuel costs, they are far more reasonable. 

As per the Police Chief, Bargersville is saving over $80,000 annually in fuel costs with its Tesla fleet. All 13 Tesla Model 3 police cars also just cost about $400 per month to charge. Had the town been using a fleet of Ford F-150 police cruisers, it would have spent about $3,100 in fuel costs alone.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla police cruisers bring huge savings to Bargersville, Indiana





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Tesla loan approvals to get fast tracked by PH banks–with high interest

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A number of banks in the Philippines recently promoted their financing packages for Tesla customers in the country. While the financing packages would likely attract a good number of customers to the electric vehicle maker, the interest rates for Model 3 and Model Y loans in the Philippines are extremely high. 

Tesla made waves in the Philippines after it opened its flagship store in Taguig, Manila. The electric vehicle maker also incited quite a lot of conversations among local car enthusiasts when it requested that its flagship store not be called a dealership. For now, orders for the Model 3 and Model Y have been opened in the Philippines, with deliveries for the vehicle expected in early 2025.

A look at Tesla Philippines’ order pages for the Model 3 and Model Y shows that financing deals are currently offered by two Philippine-based banks, UnionBank and RCBC. In a recent announcement, UnionBank noted that it would offer a faster approval process for Tesla customers in the country who wish to purchase their all-electric vehicles through a bank loan. RCBC, on the other hand, announced a fully digital auto loan process designed for Tesla customers in the country.

“As one of Tesla’s preferred financial providers in the Philippines, UnionBank is making it easier for more Filipinos to unlock the future of electric driving… With competitive interest rates and a streamlined application process, UnionBank is dedicated to providing a seamless experience for those looking to make the move to electric driving,” UnionBank noted in a statement.

While these initiatives from UnionBank and RCBC will likely make Teslas more attractive for Filipino drivers, the high interest rates involved in the actual loans for the Model 3 and Model Y could effectively result in the two mainstream all-electric vehicles only being attainable to higher-tier customers. This is because, as per Tesla Philippines’ official website, a 60-month loan for a Model 3 or Model Y with a 20% downpayment involves a whopping Add-on rate of 29%.

Unfortunately, extremely high interest rates for auto loans are not unusually high in the Philippines. This is one of the reasons why some mainstream cars such as the Toyota Camry or even the Corolla are perceived as premium vehicles by some local consumers. Hopefully, Tesla Philippines could eventually come up with a way to offer the Model 3 and Model Y with a lower APR. If Tesla Philippines could accomplish this, it could effectively result in a mainstream EV revolution in the country.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla loan approvals to get fast tracked by Philippine banks–with high interest





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Tesla exec posts optimistic teaser about FSD V13

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Tesla Vice President of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy recently shared an optimistic update about Full Self Driving (FSD) V13. Based on the executive’s post, it does seem like FSD V13 would be a notable improvement over the system’s current iteration. 

A few weeks ago, Elluswamy noted in a post on X that Tesla’s AI team would be aiming to get to feature complete for unsupervised FSD with the V13 release series. This resulted in much excitement from Tesla owners, many of whom have been eagerly awaiting the release of unsupervised FSD. At the time, the Tesla AI team also noted that the company was looking to release FSD V13 to internal customers by early November.

Since then, updates regarding the release of FSD V13 have been scarce, though the company has continued promoting the advanced driver-assist system’s capabilities in social media. One of these came in the form of 16 videos showing FSD’s safety systems reacting to rare and adversarial scenarios on closed courses.

The demonstrations in the videos, however, were accomplished using FSD V12.5.6.3, the latest iteration of FSD that’s been shipped widely to consumers. It was then no surprise that when Elluswamy noted in a post on X that V13 is looking (fire), many were promptly excited. Elon Musk seemed to support the executive’s post as well, with the CEO posting a couple of emojis on the VP’s post. 

Considering Tesla’s bet on an autonomous future with vehicles like the Cybercab and the Robovan, it would not be an exaggeration to state that FSD would be the factor that could determine if the company succeeds or fails in the long run. Elon Musk seems confident about Tesla’s self-driving efforts, however, with the CEO stating during the third quarter earnings call that Tesla is looking to secure approval for unsupervised FSD in California and Texas sometime next year.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla exec posts optimistic teaser about FSD V13





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