News
Tesla-owning Officer convinces Sheriff’s Office a Model Y would be perfect fit
Sergeant Clay Leak of the Boulder, Colorado Sheriff’s Office has several Teslas in his garage, but one at his job would have been a cherry on top. After a few months of diligence, Sgt. Leak has a Model Y in his Boulder Sheriff’s Office fleet, making it the latest force to introduce all-electric power into its law enforcement efforts.
It was a long process, Leak told Teslarati in an interview earlier this month. It took a lot of work, and it took a lot of phone calls, but eventually, things worked out as they should have. “I did a bunch of research by reading a bunch of articles, then reaching out to talk to agencies that I could get ahold of who had Teslas in their fleet,” Leak told us. He started with the Fremont, Westport, Bargersville, and Hastings-on-Hudson Departments, all of which have welcomed Tesla vehicles into their fleets. Fremont has a Model S, Westport and Bargersville a Model 3, and Hastings-on-Hudson would operate that same model as Boulder: a Model Y Long Range.
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- Credit: Sgt. Clay Leak of Boulder PD
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- Credit: Sgt. Clay Leak of Boulder PD
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- Credit: Sgt. Clay Leak of Boulder PD
The process then seemed to make sense as the financial figures lined up nicely for a presentation to local commissioners who would ultimately have the final say. “I talked to our in-house fleet manager and pulled the mileage, fueling, maintenance, and service records for our fleet,” Leak said. He did not think it would be a very difficult convincing process as cutting costs of fueling and maintenance swayed in the direction of the Model Y. After calculating Wh/mi for the Tesla and comparing it to the cost of operating a gas-powered Ford Police Interceptor, it was no match. The Model Y was around five times as cost-effective than the typical Police Cruiser. Plus, the sustainability factor was another big positive in the way of purchasing the Model Y.
“Boulder County has always strived to be eco-friendly in all our operations, and we continue that commitment by being one of the first, if not the first law enforcement agency in the State of Colorado to bring a Tesla Model Y into our patrol fleet,” the department wrote.
Within six months, the Model Y could already begin saving the Department money, according to a Media Release the department published earlier this week. After the Command Officers agreed with Leak’s calculations and ideas for a sustainable member of the fleet to be added, it went to Boulder County Commissioners, who ultimately approved the project and authorized the purchase.
“I think taxpayers will be happy to hear that this new vehicle will save money,” Leak said. “It will take time, but it will be less expensive than the gas-powered vehicles we have now.”
Then came the fun part, installing the necessary police equipment on the inside of the car, and outfitting the Model Y with decals. “We worked with Tesla, because there were some things that just didn’t line up,” Leak stated. He detailed how the programs the Boulder Sheriff’s Office uses are Windows-based, while the Model Y’s center dash screen is HTML-based. This made it necessary to install a patrol laptop, which is in normal cruisers as well.
The Department said in its release:
“The vehicle has been outfitted with official Boulder County Sheriff’s Office decals as well as a full suite of emergency equipment like that used in many of our other vehicles. It will primarily be assigned for traffic enforcement, though it will be rigorously tested to examine its potential for other applications within the Sheriff’s Office. Our research included examining EV offerings from other manufacturers, but they were ultimately eliminated from consideration due to significantly higher price points, lack of availability, and/or specifications that did not meet our needs. We are open to reconsidering them in the future as the EV market expands.”
Credit: Sgt. Clay Leak of Boulder PD
The Department expects the vehicle to make it 200,000 miles at minimum. However, Leak is looking to increase the sustainability of the Model Y Cruiser by offsetting electricity costs with solar panels.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has welcomed its newest Vegas Loop station at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Fontainebleau Loop station
The new Vegas Loop station is located on level V-1 of the Fontainebleau’s south valet area, as noted in a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the resort, guests will be able to travel free of charge to the stations serving the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as to Loop stations in Encore and Westgate.
The Fontainebleau station connects to the Riviera Station, which is located in the northwest parking lot of the convention center’s West Hall. From there, passengers will be able to access the greater Vegas Loop.
Vegas Loop expansion
In December, The Boring Company began offering Vegas Loop rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport. Those trips include a limited above-ground segment, following approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to allow surface street travel tied to Loop operations.
Under the approval, airport rides are limited to no more than four miles of surface street travel, and each trip must include a tunnel segment. The Vegas Loop currently includes more than 10 miles of tunnels. From this number, about four miles of tunnels are operational.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis previously told the Review-Journal that the University Center Loop segment, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. That extension would allow Loop vehicles to travel beneath Paradise Road between the convention center and the airport, with a planned station located just north of Tropicana Avenue.
News
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
Tesla has expanded its footprint near its Fremont Factory by leasing a 108,000-square-foot R&D facility in the East Bay.
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
A new Fremont lease
Tesla will occupy the entire building at 45401 Research Ave. in Fremont, as per real estate services firm Colliers. The transaction stands as the second-largest R&D lease of the fourth quarter, trailing only a roughly 115,000-square-foot transaction by Figure AI in San Jose.
As noted in a Silicon Valley Business Journal report, Tesla’s new Fremont lease was completed with landlord Lincoln Property Co., which owns the facility. Colliers stated that Tesla’s Fremont expansion reflects continued demand from established technology companies that are seeking space for engineering, testing, and specialized manufacturing.
Tesla has not disclosed which of its business units will be occupying the building, though Colliers has described the property as suitable for office and R&D functions. Tesla has not issued a comment about its new Fremont lease as of writing.
AI investments
Silicon Valley remains a key region for automakers as vehicles increasingly rely on software, artificial intelligence, and advanced electronics. Erin Keating, senior director of economics and industry insights at Cox Automotive, has stated that Tesla is among the most aggressive auto companies when it comes to software-driven vehicle development.
Other automakers have also expanded their presence in the area. Rivian operates an autonomy and core technology hub in Palo Alto, while GM maintains an AI center of excellence in Mountain View. Toyota is also relocating its software and autonomy unit to a newly upgraded property in Santa Clara.
Despite these expansions, Colliers has noted that Silicon Valley posted nearly 444,000 square feet of net occupancy losses in Q4 2025, pushing overall vacancy to 11.2%.
In Pennsylvania, we got between 10 and 12 inches of snow over the weekend as a nasty Winter storm ripped through a large portion of the country, bringing snow to some areas and nasty ice storms to others.
I have had a Model Y Performance for the week courtesy of Tesla, which got the car to me last Monday. Today was my last full day with it before I take it back to my local showroom, and with all the accumulation on it, I decided to run a cool little experiment: How long would it take for Tesla’s Defrost feature to melt 8 inches of snow?
Tesla’s Defrost feature is one of the best and most underrated that the car has in its arsenal. While every car out there has a defrost setting, Tesla’s can be activated through the Smartphone App and is one of the better-performing systems in my opinion.
It has come in handy a lot through the Fall and Winter, helping clear up my windshield more efficiently while also clearing up more of the front glass than other cars I’ve owned.
The test was simple: don’t touch any of the ice or snow with my ice scraper, and let the car do all the work, no matter how long it took. Of course, it would be quicker to just clear the ice off manually, but I really wanted to see how long it would take.
Tesla Model Y heat pump takes on Model S resistive heating in defrosting showdown
Observations
I started this test at around 10:30 a.m. It was still pretty cloudy and cold out, and I knew the latter portion of the test would get some help from the Sun as it was expected to come out around noon, maybe a little bit after.
I cranked it up and set my iPhone up on a tripod, and activated the Time Lapse feature in the Camera settings.
The rest of the test was sitting and waiting.
It didn’t take long to see some difference. In fact, by the 20-minute mark, there was some notable melting of snow and ice along the sides of the windshield near the A Pillar.
However, this test was not one that was “efficient” in any manner; it took about three hours and 40 minutes to get the snow to a point where I would feel comfortable driving out in public. In no way would I do this normally; I simply wanted to see how it would do with a massive accumulation of snow.
It did well, but in the future, I’ll stick to clearing it off manually and using the Defrost setting for clearing up some ice before the gym in the morning.
Check out the video of the test below:
❄️ How long will it take for the Tesla Model Y Performance to defrost and melt ONE FOOT of snow after a blizzard?
Let’s find out: pic.twitter.com/Zmfeveap1x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 26, 2026
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
