Tesla Model S Plaid reports for police duty

• The next Tesla to become a cop car is the Model S Plaid
• UP.FIT, a division of Unplugged Performance created the police package for the Model S
• UP.FIT has also made a police-spec Cybertruck

Unplugged Performance is displaying a new Tesla police car from its UP.FIT division at the 2024 SEMA show in Las Vegas. This time, it’s the Model S Plaid that’s reporting for duty.

Set to be delivered to a community outreach program of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Plaid received a new wiring harness to integrate police lights, which are mounted behind the windshield and rear window, as well as along the side skirts, to eliminate the aerodynamic drag created by a conventional light bar, according to Unplugged Performance.

Other police equipment includes a push bar, high- and low-frequency sirens, and a public address system. All of this equipment adds weight, but Unplugged Performance estimates a relatively small drop in range to 345 miles, compared to 359 miles for the standard Plaid.

Tesla Model S Plaid police car by Unplugged Performance

The police-spec Plaid retains the stock tri-motor all-wheel drive powertrain, which generates 1,020 hp and allows for 0-60 mph acceleration in 1.9 seconds, according to Tesla. Unplugged Performance upgraded the brakes and installed lighter wheels, though.

Unplugged Performance has also built a police Tesla Cybertruck, which was delivered to the Irvine Police Department in California earlier this year. As with civilian EVs, California leads the way in electric police cars. One California police department already has an all-electric fleet, consisting of 10 Tesla Model 3 sedans and 10 Model Y crossovers.

Tesla Model S Plaid police car by Unplugged Performance

But a recent report found that some California police departments are having trouble with Tesla Model 3 and Model Y police cars—included ones upfitted by Unplugged Performance—citing issues insufficient interior space and difficulty getting maintenance and repair support for the bespoke vehicles. Issues like this stem partly from the fact that Tesla doesn’t offer a factory police package.

That police departments are willing to purchase Tesla police cars modified by aftermarket companies demonstrates the lack of options currently available. Ford—a mainstay of the cop-car business—offers a police version of the F-150 Lightning and has supplied Mustang Mach-E police cars to the New York Police Department. Stellantis has also hinted that it’s preparing the Dodge Charger Daytona for police duty as a replacement for the outgoing-generation gasoline Charger.