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The country’s largest police fleet Tesla Cybertruck is ready to start patrolling the roads vegas Thanks to a donation from an American tech billionaire in November, it raised concerns over the blurring of the lines between public and private interests.
“Welcome to the future of policing,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a recent press conference, surrounded by Cybertrucks as drones hovered overhead and a police helicopter circled above them.
Fleet of 10 black and white Cybertrucks Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department The police department’s logo is displayed along with flashing lights and sirens. About 400 officers have been trained to operate the trucks that will use the public charging stations.
McMahill said the all-electric vehicles are equipped with shotguns, shields and ladders and additional battery capacity to better handle the demands of the police department.
The donation has raised concerns from government oversight experts about the influence of private donors on public departments and promoting the Tesla brand. The department is the latest US city to turn to Tesla models Elon Musk The electric vehicle company has faced blowback due to its work earlier in the year to advance the president’s political agenda and shrink the federal government.
McMahill said the trucks will help keep officers safe because they are bulletproof, while Metro’s other squad cars are not. Each Cybertruck costs between $80,000 and $115,000 and will be used to respond to calls such as barricades and gunfire in addition to regular patrolling.
The Cybertruck also offers unique benefits such as a reduced turn radius, he said.
“They look a little different than the patrol cars we have, but they represent something much bigger than just a police car,” the sheriff said. “They represent innovation. They represent sustainability, and they represent our continued commitment to serve this community safely, efficiently and responsibly with the best tools we have available.”
Cybertruck has been recalled repeatedly
The fleet comes amid a tumultuous year for Tesla, which has faced multiple recalls.
In March, US safety regulators recalled almost all Cybertrucks on the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall, which covered more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an outer panel running along the left and right sides of the windshield could separate while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash. Tesla offered to replace the panels free of charge in notification letters sent in May.
In late October, Tesla announced a recall of more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the US because the front lights are too bright, which can distract other drivers and increase the risk of collisions.
Robert Wicks, a Las Vegas official with the department’s public information office, said all Tesla recalls will be dealt with before the Cybertruck patrols the roads. He said the March recall regarding panel issues was handled before the department received the trucks.
Federal regulators have launched another investigation into Tesla’s self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes colliding with other vehicles and causing injuries.
The Cybertruck modified for the Las Vegas police fleet does not have any self-driving features.
Laura Martin, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action Fund, said the trucks, striking with their sharp angles, “look like they’re built to intimidate, not protect.”
“It seems as if the Cybertruck coming onto the roads of Clark County demonstrates that Sheriff McMahill is prioritizing corporate freebies and police militarization over real community needs,” he said.
Some people express concern about private donations
charity comes after the president donald trump Shopped for a new Tesla on the White House driveway earlier this year and said he hoped his purchase would help the company as it grapples with declining sales and falling stock prices.
Now the Las Vegas fleet of another Tesla model “really draws the next parallel there to patrolling our communities,” said Athar Hasibullah, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
Hasibullah is also concerned about the Cybertruck’s surveillance capabilities that the public may not be aware of, and that the fleet could give Tesla access to police data.
After a Cybertruck exploded outside Trump’s Las Vegas Tower earlier this year, Tesla was able to provide detailed data of the driver inside, including the driver’s movements before the explosion.
Ed Obayashi, a special prosecutor in California and an expert on national and state police practices, said private donations to law enforcement are not unusual or illegal unless a local or state law prohibits it.
In this case, the donation is a physical piece of equipment, and the money can’t be invested in anything else, Obayashi said. He said he doesn’t think the trucks provide any specific benefit to the department.
“There’s really not going to be any specific or noticeable advantage or benefit, other than the fact that it’s a free vehicle and it saves taxpayers money having to replace equipment,” Obayashi said.
Donation comes from tech venture capitalist
The Las Vegas fleet was a donation totaling $2.7 million from Ben Horowitz, co-founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm known as Andreessen Horowitz, or A16Z, and his wife, Felicia Horowitz.
The couple, who live in Las Vegas, have made several donations to the department, including $8 million to $9 million for Project Blue Sky, the department’s implementation of drones throughout the valley. He has also donated money to purchase emergency call technology and license plate readers – products from companies in which Andreessen Horowitz invests.
Ben Horowitz, who has donated to political campaigns for both Democrats and Republicans, was among the investors who backed Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter, now known as X.
His venture capitalist firm also hosted McMahill and Metro Chief of Staff Mike Gennaro on a podcast in November 2024.
Ben and Felicia Horowitz could not be reached for comment, although in a 2024 blog post, Ben Horowitz described his interest in donating to the department while emphasizing the importance of public safety and the difficulties public sectors face in budgeting for technology.
McMahill said the couple wanted to ensure that Las Vegas “doesn’t become California in terms of crime.”