Next time you're in Las Vegas, keep an eye out for some hot vehicles, because those in a Tesla Cybertruck could be police officers. A generous donor has donated several Tesla pickup trucks to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department that are equipped with the latest police enforcement technology.
In a department address on Tuesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced plans to add 10 Tesla Cybertrucks to its patrol and SWAT fleet. WWNY news station reports that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will become the first law enforcement agency in the United States to use these expensive pickup trucks for policing.
Tesla Cybertrucks with the "Cyberbeast" package start at about $94,000, but versions equipped with police and SWAT gear will easily exceed $115,000, especially the SWAT pickup, which will come with reinforced panels and other modifications. Chief Kevin McMahill assured attendees that taxpayers would not foot the bill for the new equipment.
McMahill explained that the department ordered the Cybertruck more than a year ago thanks to a generous donation. Although the Las Vegas Police Department did not reveal the name of the donor, there is speculation that Ben Horowitz was the driving force behind the donation. Ben Horowitz, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has previously donated high-tech equipment to the Las Vegas Police Department.
After the "State of the Department" keynote speech, Sheriff McMahill posted pictures of these new cars on Twitter and said: "Awesome."
Indeed! The black and white cruiser, with red and blue on the head and bumpers, will definitely grab your attention, especially when you see the horizontal bar headlights in your rearview mirror as a police officer pulls you over. The SWAT van's desert-colored paint job and additional modifications make it look more like a military vehicle than a Cybertruck.
The final versions of these vehicles may look significantly different. Carscoops discovered that the LVMPD image appears to be a re-render of the upgraded CybertruckUP.FIT cruiser released by UnpluggedPerformance last year. Likewise, the SWAT pickup is a rendering of the Cybertruck with the proposed military makeover from last year, complete with "SWAT" collage on the side.
The new Tesla isn't the only high-tech gear announced by Metro. The department is deploying "gunfire detectors" that can triangulate the location of gunshots in the city and has deployed several drones across Las Vegas in response to disturbances and potentially dangerous situations. The drones can transmit live video footage to responding patrol vehicles, including new Cybertrucks.