Starbase Shows Off First Police Cybertruck as City Weighs $190,000-Per-Truck Order
The SpaceX company town’s proposed deal with upfitter UP.FIT covers eight patrol trucks, with options for 22 more and 10 fire vehicles.
Source: City of Starbase (X) ↗
Starbase, the Cameron County, Texas, city that is home to SpaceX, showed off its police department’s first Cybertruck Oct. 29. The black-and-white truck, unit 001, has a roof light bar, a push bar and a lighted strip along the rocker panel, and the city photographed it with SpaceX rocket hardware in the background. The city said the trucks “will be part of our fleet serving the community.”
What They Cost
A day earlier, the city commission’s agenda included a contract with Unplugged Performance, which does business as UP.FIT, for fully upfitted Cybertruck patrol vehicles. UP.FIT was the only bidder. The proposed deal:
- Eight patrol trucks at $190,000 each, plus $4,600 apiece for delivery, for $1.56 million
- An option for up to 22 more patrol trucks at no more than $204,600 each, delivery included
- An option for up to 10 fire vehicles at no more than $279,600 each, delivery included
With every option used, the contract tops out at about $8.85 million. The city could pay a deposit of up to half the vehicle price, as long as UP.FIT refunds it for any truck that is not delivered and accepted.
The city had not posted minutes from the Oct. 28 meeting when this story was written, so the vote is not confirmed. The city’s post does not say whether the truck pictured came from UP.FIT.
A Department Built From Scratch
Chief Glenn Bennett is building the department from the ground up. As of the commission’s Oct. 23 meeting, it had seven officers, uniforms had largely arrived and badges were still on the way, according to the meeting minutes. The city also has an agreement with SpaceX to use two SpaceX-owned vehicles.
