Murphy, Texas’ police department has entered uncharted territory in terms of law enforcement. They’ve taken the daring step of deploying two 2026 Tesla Model Ys, this time in the updated Juniper form, on active patrol duty with the assistance of UP.FIT is Unplugged Performance’s specialist fleet outfit. Murphy is now one of the first agencies anywhere to give the Model Y a real run on the streets, and they believe it’s worth testing whether electric vehicles can seriously compete in real-world police work while saving money over traditional gas-guzzling SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe or Ford Explorer.
UP.FIT, the Unplugged Performance team, took a basic Model Y Juniper and created a full patrol car from the ground up, adding all of the bells and whistles you’d expect to see on the front of a police car. This features a front push bar for smooth vehicle stops, additional LED lights on the front and sides, a siren and light bar on the roof, and suitable pursuit-rated tires on 18-inch forged aluminum wheels. Inside, the cops receive a unique center console, a secure laptop mount, a pair of weapon holders, improved interior lighting, and a barrier to keep the driver and any captives apart.
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You can even add optional front door armour and reflective graphics to make the cars more apparent at night, but it’s not just about looks, according to UP.FIT also considered comfort, providing ventilated seats and some soundproofing to help with those long shifts.
The cost reductions are the key pull for the department, as they believe each of these cars will save them $4,100 to $7,600 on their annual bill when one officer uses it for 42 hours each week. What if they start sharing the automobiles and run them for about 140 hours per week? The savings are considerably greater, ranging from $8,500 to $12,000 per year, owing primarily to the fact that they will no longer be consuming gas and will only need to fix the automobiles on occasion.
Electric motors require far less maintenance because they have fewer moving parts. Then there’s the issue of idling, which is perhaps one of the most expensive aspects of police cars, but the Model Y does not have the same issue. Instead of consuming tons of gas while waiting for the cops to return to work, the cars run entirely on battery power, putting no extra pressure on the engine. So the department anticipates that these will survive almost twice as long as their typical fleet automobiles.
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