Tesla secures large EV fleet order from Caltrans

Tesla has secured a large fleet order from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), which is trying to electrify its vehicle fleet.

Caltrans, like other government agencies in California, is trying to electrify its entire vehicle fleet of about 1,200 vehicles by 2030.

They already have 54 Toyota RAV4 Primes (PHEV), 15 Chevy Bolts, 11 Nissan Leafs, and one Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup, but now they have placed their largest EV order yet.

The agency told Drive Tesla Canada that it placed an order for 399 Tesla Model 3 vehicles:

In a statement to Drive Tesla, a Caltrans spokesperson confirmed the 399 Model 3 sedans are the Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) variant, putting the value of the purchase at more than $18 million, making the previously unannounced deal the largest known EV fleet order from a US government department at either the federal or state level.

Government agencies have been criticized at times for buying Tesla vehicles because they are considered “luxury vehicles,” but the purchase was approved by the Department of General Services, and the agency argued that it offers the best value for taxpayers than any other all-electric vehicles.

Caltrans has reportedly already received the first 236 Model 3 vehicles out of the 399 vehicles it ordered.

Last year, Electrek revealed a similarly important fleet order of Tesla Model 3 vehicles placed by New York City.

Tesla has been having a lot of success with fleet orders from government agencies as of late.

It started with police departments that quickly found that Tesla vehicles were ideal for electrifying their patrol fleets. Since then, several municipalities, state, and even federal agencies have been placing orders with Tesla.

As of late, Tesla has also received even larger orders from companies like Hertz and Autonomy.

We reported that Tesla filed its end-of-quarter delivery slots with some of those fleet deliveries during the last quarter.