The Las Vegas police department and the FBI are investigating a blaze set at a Tesla showroom as potential terrorism. The FBI is probing at least three other incidents of Molotov cocktails hurled at Tesla facilities since January, including one in Kansas City, Missouri, that took place on the same night as the alleged arson in Nevada.
In Las Vegas, in the middle of the night on Tuesday, a cluster of Tesla vehicles were set on fire as they sat in a lot at a Tesla collision center, according to the Las Vegas metropolitan police department. Security cameras caught a person dressed in all black tossing what appeared to be Molotov cocktails into the vehicles at approximately 2.45am.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered several vehicles on fire, as well as the word ‘resist’ spraypainted on the front doors of the business,” said Dori Koren, the assistant sheriff with the Las Vegas metropolitan police department, during a press conference on Tuesday. “At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged, to include at least two of which were engulfed in flames.”
Police said the Las Vegas suspect also fired three rounds of ammunition into the Tesla vehicles parked at the collision center. The sheriff said the incident was a “targeted attack” against the Tesla facility and that there was no threat to the general public.
Spencer Evans, a special agent with the FBI’s joint terrorism task force, said at the press conference that the Tesla fires were initially being investigated for arson, but now are being considered for possible terrorism.
“Was this terrorism, was it something else?” Evans said. “It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think – you know, the writing on the wall, the potential political agenda, there’s an act of violence. So, none of those factors are lost on us.”
Elon Musk, the CEO of the electric vehicle maker, called the Las Vegas Tesla fires an act of “terrorism” in a post on X, the social media platform he owns. On Monday, in a longer post, he lamented the backlash and blamed the “woke” left. “My companies make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone. So why the hate and violence against me? Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” he wrote. Musk and Tesla did not return requests for comment.
On Tuesday, Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, spoke to Fox News about Tesla showrooms bearing the brunt of Molotov cocktail attacks. “If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re going to come after you,” Bondi said.
Musk posted the Fox News clip to X, which gathered more than 8m views within hours.
The Las Vegas firebombing is the latest attack on a Tesla facility that appears to be in protest of Musk, who is also a senior adviser to Donald Trump. Musk is the head of the unofficial “department of government efficiency” (Doge), the new name of the US Digital Service, that has been working to overhaul the federal government with massive budget cuts and the layoffs of tens of thousands of employees.
Along with Nevada, the Guardian has tracked three other incidents at Tesla showrooms involving Molotov cocktails, including in Oregon, Colorado and Missouri, all of which are under FBI investigation. Another incident in South Carolina, where a suspect threw Molotovs at a Tesla charging station, is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Vandalism, including anti-Musk graffiti, spraypainted swastikas, cut cables and deliberate fires set at Tesla charging stations, has been increasing nationwide as Musk slashes more federal bureaus. This comes as Tesla sales have slumped and the company’s stock has plummeted 40% since January.
“There’s certainly, nationwide, been an uptick in folks who feel empowered to commit acts of violence. In this case, against Tesla facilities and vehicles and their owners,” Evans, the FBI agent, said. “That is absolutely unacceptable.”
Trump said last week that he would designate the violence against Tesla facilities as domestic terrorism. The pronouncement came during a press conference where the president was showcasing Tesla vehicles in front of the White House, with Musk alongside him. In regards to the vandalism, Trump said: “I’m going to put a stop to it. Because they’re harming a great American company.”
