{"id":62203,"date":"2026-02-04T23:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T04:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=62203"},"modified":"2026-02-06T17:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T22:39:12","slug":"lake-alfreds-131k-cybertruck-for-fire-department-draws-praise-and-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/02\/04\/lake-alfreds-131k-cybertruck-for-fire-department-draws-praise-and-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Alfred\u2019s $131K Cybertruck for fire department draws praise \u2014 and questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A small Central Florida city is drawing national attention after approving the purchase of a Tesla Cybertruck for its fire department, a move city leaders say is about function and fiscal responsibility \u2014 but one that some residents argue is unnecessary and excessive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lake Alfred city commissioners unanimously approved spending just over $131,000 on a 2025 Tesla Cybertruck in December. Officials say the electric vehicle will serve as a brush truck, command vehicle and mobile power source, offering a lower-cost alternative to a traditional brush truck that can cost close to $300,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fire Chief Darius Livingston said the goal was never to be flashy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal wasn\u2019t to be innovative, the goal was to fix a problem,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cAnd in return, a lot of great rewards came from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Livingston said the Cybertruck will be the first of its kind used by a fire department in the nation. The vehicle will be outfitted with a 200-gallon water tank to fight brush fires in rural areas and can also be used for rescues, public events and emergency command operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey told me it would be the first in the nation, so I am excited about it,\u201d Livingston said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief said the truck meets National Fire Protection Association standards and offers versatility that traditional brush trucks do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will definitely do the job,\u201d he said. \u201cIt meets NFPA standards. It does the job. And it gives us more bang for our buck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Livingston, who owns an electric vehicle personally, said lower fuel and maintenance costs were a key factor in the recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually drive an electric vehicle as well, and I see the benefits of maintenance and gas,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters also point to the Cybertruck\u2019s off-road capabilities and ability to power equipment for hours during emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City leaders say the lower emissions are another potential benefit, especially as firefighters look for ways to reduce exposure to harmful fumes and toxins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, not everyone in Lake Alfred is convinced the purchase was necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a waste of money,\u201d resident Janet Hernandez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hernandez questioned both the cost and the need for another vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor that kind of money, it\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they\u2019ve already got one, why do they already need another one and spend all that money?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others raised concerns about reliability, recalls and Tesla\u2019s high-profile political associations. Livingston pushed back on that criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever political,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a fire chief. I\u2019m not into political games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cybertruck purchase is being treated as a pilot program, with the potential for more electric emergency vehicles if it proves successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven possibly an engine in the future,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to like everything, but you\u2019ve got to do what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City leaders say they expect delivery of the Cybertruck sometime next month and are already hearing from neighboring municipalities interested in watching how the experiment plays out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials from Winter Haven and Auburndale have reached out, according to Livingston, to see whether electric vehicles could work in their own fleets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A small Central Florida city is drawing national attention after approving the purchase of a Tesla Cybertruck for its fire department, a move city leaders say is about function and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDJcL1NjcmVlbnNob3QtMjAyNi0wMi0wNFQyMzA4NTQuMTU5LndlYnA_Zml0PTcyMCUyQzMxOSZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6Ikxha2UgQWxmcmVkXHUyMDE5cyAkMTMxSyBDeWJlcnRydWNrIGZvciBmaXJlIGRlcGFydG1lbnQgZHJhd3MgcHJhaXNlIFx1MjAxNCBhbmQgcXVlc3Rpb25zIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.V2ecv5yQhdRpCrj_7BWswJDuH98OBcHR5S01gX0M-k4MQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":62204,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-04T230854.159.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[13527],"class_list":["post-62203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-lake-alfreds-131k-cybertruck-for-fire-department-draws-praise-and-questions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62203"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62283,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62203\/revisions\/62283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}