At least five Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas were damaged early Tuesday in a “targeted attack” with two vehicles fully engulfed in flames and others shot at with guns, authorities said.
At around 2:45 a.m. local time, officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to multiple reports of Tesla vehicles being set on fire at a Tesla Collision Center. Police found at least five Tesla vehicles damaged, including two which were engulfed in flames, and the word “RESIST” in capital letters spray painted in red on the center’s doors.
The suspect also fired at least three rounds into the vehicles and is believed to have used Molotov cocktails for the fire, according to police.
Investigators are still searching for the suspect and said the individual approached the Tesla facility wearing black clothing. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating alongside the Las Vegas police.
The Las Vegas incident follows a string of protests and violence at Tesla facilities nationwide over Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role in President Trump’s cost-cutting task force, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Other incidents have included graffiti on a Tesla dealership sign, Molotov cocktails thrown in another dealership’s lot, and Tesla charging stations set on fire.
On Monday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office reported multiple Tesla vehicles with swastikas spray-painted on them. No arrests have been made in that incident.
Musk responded to the Las Vegas incident on his X platform, calling it an act of “terrorism.”
“This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong,” Musk wrote in his social media post. “Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday called the violence against Tesla “nothing short of domestic terrorism.”
“The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences,” Bondi said in a statement. “We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”
Mr. Trump also told reporters last week that he would label violence against Tesla facilities as “domestic terrorism.”
