Published in 2025
Ipswich has a new official vehicle. This time, it’s not the usual police Ford that has arrived at the municipal garage, but a fully electric Tesla Model Y crossover. The new vehicle is the police chief’s car and is part of a program to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
According to Police Chief Paul Nicas and City Manager Tony Marino, the switch to electric vehicles is part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. Tesla replaced an old 2011 Ford Taurus due to be decommissioned this year.
Two grants offset part of the cost of the new vehicle: $10,000 from the Ipswich Electric Authority and $4,290 from the Green Community state program. As a result, the final cost to taxpayers was about $39,000, which is on par with gasoline-powered equivalents and slightly below the amount originally budgeted.
Savings and Ecology
According to city experts, using a Tesla will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 87 percent compared to gasoline-powered cars. Fuel and maintenance savings of up to $13,000 can also be expected over ten years. Additional health benefits are expected, as electric vehicles do not produce exhaust fumes when parked for long periods of time.
What else is Ipswich doing for the environment?
In recent years, Ipswich has been taking active steps to transition to clean energy:
- The city’s electric vehicle fleet has already converted five service vehicles to electric motors. These include a Hyster forklift, a Chevrolet Bolt for the engineering and health departments, and a hybrid Toyota RAV4. This approach has helped reduce costs and save about 1,000 gallons of gasoline.
- Electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at municipal buildings and city parking lots. The infrastructure will be expanded as funding becomes available.
- In February 2020, Ipswich was awarded Green Community status, and it committed to reducing its energy consumption by 20 percent over five years.
- The city council and school board recently passed a resolution tto phase out fossil fuels in municipal operations by 2040 completely
There are no immediate plans to purchase new electric vehicles, but local authorities expect that electric cars will eventually become standard practice for all city services.