Texas City Weighs Three Cybertrucks for Its Police Department

Hutto City Council wants to know what it would cost to put three Tesla Cybertrucks to work for the Hutto Police Department and other city departments, and it has directed city staff to run a cost comparison for a three-vehicle test.

That’s according to Community Impact, which reported on October 19 that the comparison will measure the Cybertruck against the city’s current patrol vehicles on fuel and maintenance costs, safety features and longevity. Council also asked staff to factor in charging infrastructure, repair and parts availability, warranties, data privacy and liability, and insurance. Nothing has been purchased, and no date has been set for the results.

Council member Jerrel Reynolds said he bought a Cybertruck in April and started looking at fuel costs, oil changes and basic maintenance, and he found the truck to be low maintenance. He also noted that the Las Vegas Police Department has 10 Cybertrucks in its fleet and suggested the city reach out to that department for more information.

Mayor Mike Snyder sounded open to the idea but wants to see the numbers first. “I think this is the future,” Snyder said. “Are we ready for the future today? I don’t know. It’s going to come down to what is the cost of the vehicles side by side.” He also pointed to safety features like collision avoidance assist as something that would benefit the department.

Corina Zepeda, another council member, was on board as well. “I’m in favor any time we can save money and improve safety,” she said, adding that beyond maintenance, upkeep and charging, she wants the city to take “a really good look at how much this is going to improve city safety.”

The Las Vegas fleet Reynolds mentioned is the best-known example in the U.S. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department put its 10 Cybertruck patrol units on the street in October 2025, after venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and his wife Felicia donated the trucks, so no taxpayer money was used. The trucks were upfitted by UP.FIT, a division of Unplugged Performance, and estimates at the time put the savings at roughly $47,500 per truck over five years compared with a similar gas pickup. Mexico’s Jalisco State Police added three Cybertrucks to its fleet in August 2025 as well.

Operating costs are the core of Hutto’s study, and UP.FIT has published its own figures on that. Its five-year analysis, covered in our story on how Tesla police EVs offer 4x cost savings over gas-powered cruisers, put a Cybertruck patrol unit at about $24,000 in fuel and maintenance over 100,000 miles, compared with $19,500 for a Model Y patrol vehicle and $84,000 for a Ford Police Interceptor Utility. Much of that gap comes from idling, since a Tesla can power lights, radios and computers from its battery while parked instead of burning gas.

Another Texas department has already made the switch with a smaller vehicle. In February, UP.FIT delivered two 2026 Model Y patrol vehicles to the Murphy Police Department, which appears to be the first department anywhere to put the refreshed Model Y into frontline duty.

Would you want to see Cybertrucks on patrol in your city?