Sheriff Lupe Valdez checks out her new Tesla Model S. (Naomi Martin/Dallas Morning News photo)
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez got an early birthday present on Thursday, Sept. 29, when her partner, Lindsey Browning, surprised her with a brand new, shiny bright red 2016 Tesla Model S, outside the offices of Dallas Morning News. The sheriff, who turns 69 on Oct. 11, has wanted a Tesla for about five years, according to the DMN reports.
Browning, who owns Urban Hippie Chiropractic in Oak Cliff, said that she had bought the car the day before and had been worried that someone would leak the surprise, She told DMN she had let about a half-dozen Dallas County sheriff’s deputies in on the surprise so they could help coordinate the timing, adding “It’s hard to surprise her because so many people are in charge of her life.”
When Valdez commented that they would be paying for the car for the next four or five years, Browning answered, “The hippie business is pretty good.” Prices for the all-electric Tesla Model S reportedly start at $66,000. As they dove away in the car — with Browning behind the wheel since Valdez had not yet had lessons on driving it — the sheriff joked, “This was not paid for with county funds!”
The DMN said Valdez was at the newspaper’s offices for an interview with their editorial board.
