The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department deployed 10 donated Tesla Cybertrucks plus one SWAT "sting protector," retrofitted by UpFit and valued at about $2.7 million. The donation came from Ben and Felicia Horowitz and was routed through the charity Behind the Blue. Civil liberties advocates question whether flashy donated vehicles advance community safety or signal private influence, while officials say recalls were addressed and no taxpayer money was used.
How Las Vegas Ended Up With a Donated Fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks — and Why It Matters
A Tesla Cybertruck owned by the Las Vegas metro police department on display in Las Vegas on 28 October 2025.Photograph: Ty ONeil/AP
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recently put a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks on city streets: 10 patrol vehicles and one SWAT "sting protector," all donated and retrofitted for law-enforcement use. Wrapped in black-and-white vinyl and fitted with rooftop warning lights, the stainless-steel trucks are intended to project a modern, high-tech image — but the move has sparked questions about public safety, private influence and vehicle suitability for police work.
The donation and retrofit
The donor was identified as Ben Horowitz, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and his wife, Felicia Horowitz. According to public records obtained by the Guardian, the gift — routed through the law enforcement charity Behind the Blue — was finalized in late January 2025 and valued at roughly $2.7 million. Las Vegas officials say no taxpayer dollars were used for the purchase.
LVMPD waited about 10 months while UpFit, a Hawthorne, California, company specializing in retrofitting Teslas for police use, equipped the trucks with tactical gear. The department says the vehicles were fitted with barrier shields, ladders, radios and other equipment; specific upgrade details and pricing were redacted from public records.
Operational changes and safety steps
Officials requested that UpFit deactivate Tesla’s so-called "Beast Mode," which Tesla describes as enabling a Cybertruck to accelerate from 0–60 mph in roughly 2.6 seconds and reach a top speed near 130 mph. The department also says it addressed outstanding manufacturer recalls before putting the trucks into patrol service.
Who else is watching — and why
Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, warned that adopting flashy electric trucks can read like an endorsement of Elon Musk and may not reflect what community members say they want from policing: a greater sense of safety and accountability rather than more visible hardware. Other jurisdictions have faced backlash for adding Teslas to public fleets: Baltimore abandoned a $5 million plan for Teslas for municipal employees, and King County experienced public criticism after buying vehicles for a carpool program. Several small California towns that trialed Tesla sedans reported those models were not well-suited to policing tasks.
Donor's broader contributions and questions about influence
The Horowitzes are longtime local supporters of Las Vegas police and have donated an estimated $8 million in technology to LVMPD in recent years, including license-plate readers from Flock, drones from Skydio and an AI 911-assist tool from Prepared911. TechCrunch reported that those products come from companies in Andreessen Horowitz’s investment portfolio; the firm is not an investor in Tesla. Internal emails show department officials discussing morale and tactical benefits as reasons for accepting the vehicles.
Cybertruck background and controversies
Tesla’s Cybertruck has been marketed as exceptionally durable — CEO Elon Musk has described its stainless-steel body as nearly "apocalypse-proof" — but public demonstrations have been mixed. The model has seen diminished sales (about 5,385 Cybertrucks sold in Q3, down 63% year-over-year) and is banned in Europe on pedestrian-safety grounds. The trucks have been subject to roughly 10 recalls over the past two years for issues such as detaching panels, overly bright front lights, and a light bar that could fall off and create hazards; the most recent recall cited a fall-risk from an external light bar.
Cybertrucks have also been targeted during protests against Tesla’s leadership: vandalism and arson incidents were reported during "Tesla Takedown" actions, and some vehicles have been defaced or destroyed.
What this means for Las Vegas
"They represent something far bigger than just a police car," Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press event, adding that the trucks help position LVMPD as technologically advanced. Critics, however, ask whether donated, eye-catching vehicles are the right response to community safety needs and whether private tech contributions create undue influence over public policing priorities.
As the Cybertrucks enter routine patrol, the debate in Las Vegas will likely focus on operational effectiveness, community reaction and the broader implications of private donations to public safety agencies.
