The Newport Police Department is adding four more Tesla Model Y vehicles to its fleet.
The Newport Police Department first added three Tesla Model 3 vehicles in December 2023 and then requested two more in November 2024 after the success of the first three. In January 2025, Newport requested the Tesla Model Y electric vehicle for use, initially in the planning, development and code departments. Then, in June 2025, the commission approved four more Tesla Model Y electric vehicles for its police fleet.
The Model Y vehicles serve as patrol vehicles because they are large enough to fit a cage to hold arrested people, whereas the Model 3 is used for administrative purposes.
The city estimated in June that its total savings over five years for four Teslas is $148,311.56. Newport Police Chief Chris Fangman said the Tesla is cheaper and a better product than, say, a more common police vehicle like a Chevy Equinox or Dodge Durango.
As shown in the city-provided graphic from June, the base purchase price difference between the Tesla Model Y (2026) and the department’s previously purchased vehicle of choice, the Dodge Durango (2025), is 13.64%.
The graph also shows the advantages of buying Tesla vehicles in terms of upfitting costs, annual energy and fuel costs, annual maintenance costs, resale value (five years), total energy and fuel costs (five years), total maintenance costs (five years), and total cost per vehicle (five years). All of which show the Tesla winning out in each category.
Fangman said the city was in talks with Covington to provide as much information as possible about the success of its electric vehicle program. Covington recently voted to purchase 10 new electric vehicles for various city departments, specifically the police, fire and public works.
Fangman said he has already had a third city reach out to the police department about Newport’s size, which is going that route as well.
“So it has proven successful,” Fangman said. “We’ve had other cities do their independent studies, and it’s very consistent, so it’s been a great leadership move, and it’s been working for everybody.”
The city also has some level 3 chargers, also known as superchargers, which typically cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Newport was able to snag some for under $20,000, according to Newport Assistant City Manager Brian Steffen. Superchargers add 200 miles of range in 15 minutes, whereas regular chargers are best used overnight, often taking 8 to 12 hours to charge fully.
“We purchased as many of them as we possibly could from Duke Energy,” Steffen said. “They were surplusing them out. They had a job somewhere else in the country that they didn’t complete, so they had a surplus of them. So that’s why we acquired them. We took advantage of the price while we could get them.”
