Tesla attacks mark troubling twist in political violence as Musk divides America
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There were broad expectations that the widening political divides in America following Donald Trump’s second presidential victory would explode.
But few could have predicted the flash point would be electric cars.
Teslas have been set ablaze with Molotov cocktails, riddled with bullets and defaced with swastikas. Doors and windows at once pristine luxury electric vehicle showrooms are now scrawled with profanity and Nazi symbols.
Teslas, once the darling of alternative energy advocates, are now the unlikely target of political violence. Experts say while the singling out of individual vehicles is unusual, activists focusing ire on a corporation has a long history in America.
No one has been seriously hurt in the incidents, but they have heightened alarm from both law enforcement officials and experts in political extremism about where this is heading.
“We have a continuum of activity, some of which we rightfully tolerate, such as boisterous and passionate protests,” said Brian Levin, a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and an expert on extremism. “But now we’re getting to another level of this kind of directed arson and violence, which, to be sure, has an intimidation effect.”
With Chief Executive Elon Musk playing a prominent role in the Trump administration, many Tesla drivers are no longer happy about supporting the car brand.
The Tesla attacks have been scattered and do not appear to be coordinated. But the one thing they seem to have in common is disdain for Tesla owner Elon Musk and his efforts to fire federal workers and shrink the size of government.
After Las Vegas was hit with a spate of Tesla attacks, Spencer Evans, FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas bureau, issued a warning to would-be political vandals.
“Specifically to those who might think that something like this is justifiable or potentially even admirable, we want to let you know it’s a federal crime,” he said. “We will come after you, we will find you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. I encourage anyone that’s considering something like this to seriously reconsider.”
This isn’t the first time corporations or even car brands have been the target of political protest, and sometimes vandalism.
Protests over Energy Transfer’s construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota drew national attention and thousands of people to months-long encampments in 2016 and 2017. A jury this week awarded damages of more than $660 million to the pipeline company in its lawsuit against Greenpeace over the environmental organization’s role in the protests.
In 2003, activists set fire to a Chevrolet dealership and destroyed or defaced dozens of Hummers and other sport utility vehicles, scrawling many with the word “polluter.” Earth Liberation Front, an association of militant environmentalists, claimed responsibility for the attacks at the time, saying it had been intended to take the profit motive away from the companies responsible for pollution.
The same group was suspected to be involved in a fire that tore through a construction site in San Diego that same year, according to a Times report from 2003.
“Over the last decade ideologically motivated militants from across a spectrum, as well as some unstable and idiosyncratic types, have targeted their broadening attacks not only against traditional, governmental, communication and academic enterprises, but also increasingly against powerful corporate or defense industry targets who they regard as political co-conspirators of their adversaries,” Levin said.
There have been growing concerns about political extremism in the United States in the Trump era, especially after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying election results.
On his first day in office, President Trump granted sweeping pardons or commutations to more than 1,500 people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses. The pardons and now the efforts to protect Tesla have sent out a conflicting message about how the Trump administration will handle targeted political violence, Levin said.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Levin said. “If the Trump administration is going to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk with respect to targeted violence. You can’t just pick and choose which particular ideology you prefer when it comes to having a legal response to acts of targeted violence.”
Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi labeled the attacks on Tesla dealerships this week as “nothing short of domestic terrorism.”
Bondi promised to impose severe consequences on those involved in the Tesla attacks, including “those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”
For his part, Trump suggested Friday Tesla attacker should be sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
While domestic terrorism is defined in federal law, it’s not an official criminal statute that carries a specific penalty. Those arrested in the attacks have so far been charged under other federal statutes that can carry significant jail time.
Under federal statutes, conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said applying terror charges to Tesla attacks is possible, but it’s not how terrorism charges have been filed in the past.
“Americans have not been charged with terrorism because it can be difficult to get inside a criminal defendant’s head and prove why they committed the violent act. It’s much easier if they are a member of or have pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization,” Rahmani said.
Tesla’s ability to outrage and inspire may seem novel to some but the vehicle may be a spiritual kin with another scorned vehicle, General Motors’ Hummer.
It’s not just showrooms that are on alert. A website, Dogequest, allegedly published the personal information of Tesla owners across the United States, raising privacy and safety concerns for those who own the electric vehicles. The website has since been taken down.
Musk has fired back on his social media platform, X, doling out blame for the attacks on Democrats and others.
“Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company? I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction!” Musk wrote on X.
In San Diego, a person wearing dark clothing and a red bandanna around their face sneaked onto the Tesla showroom in Encinitas before 2 a.m. Monday and spray-painted swastikas on eight vehicles and defaced the dealership’s windows with profanity, said San Diego County Sheriff Sgt. Christie Ramirez.
Ramirez said investigators have not made any arrests.
Several dealerships have been defaced with Nazi symbols — an apparent response to the arm gesture Musk made while speaking at a rally celebrating Trump’s inauguration in January. Musk denies the gesture was a Nazi salute.
U.S. regulators are recalling nearly all Cybertrucks, the eighth recall of the Tesla vehicles since deliveries to customers began just over a year ago.
In Las Vegas, the FBI and Las Vegas metro police launched an investigation this week after vandals threw Molotov cocktails and fired at least three rounds into vehicles at a Tesla Collision Center just a few miles from the Vegas Strip around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
Several Teslas were engulfed in flames and the word “resist” was spray-painted on building doors, said Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren. A 911 caller reported seeing a person wearing black clothing setting multiple electric vehicles on fire.
At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident, including two fully engulfed by fire, authorities said.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating a similar incident in Kansas City, Mo., where two Cybertrucks were set ablaze early Tuesday. Authorities say so far there is no connection to the Las Vegas attack.
There have been at least half a dozen similar acts of vandalism at Tesla showrooms across the country in the past several months.
On March 2, someone scrawled the words “NO Musk” in red spray paint on the windows of a Tesla dealership in Owings Mills, Md. A day later, seven Tesla charging stations were set on fire in Littleton, Mass.
In Tigard, Ore., police are investigating after someone opened fire at a Tesla dealership twice in a span of about a week. In the first incident, which occurred March 6, someone fired at least seven rounds — damaging three cars and shattering windows. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor, according to police.
“Fortunately, this happened overnight when the property was unoccupied,” authorities wrote in a news release.
In Seattle, four Cybertrucks that were parked in a Tesla lot were set ablaze on March 9. In Dedham, Mass., three Teslas were spray-painted with graffiti and their tires were slashed on March 11, police said.
In Lynnwood, Wash., someone spray-painted red swastikas on Cybertrucks that were parked at a Tesla center waiting to be serviced.
Many of the investigations remain ongoing, but at least four people have been charged after allegedly destroying Tesla property.
The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musk’s disruptive role in Washington.
Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, of Salem, Ore., has been charged federally with illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device after authorities say he allegedly tried to destroy Teslas at a local dealership with Molotov cocktails. Lansky also allegedly fired several rounds into a building and a vehicle at the dealership, according to court records.
In Loveland, Colo., two people have been arrested after attacks on a Tesla dealership. Cooper Jo Frederick, 24, of Fort Collins was charged with using and possessing an explosive, second-degree arson, criminal mischief and attempted criminal felony after police say an incendiary device was ignited and thrown at a Tesla building, landing between two vehicles.
Lucy Grace Nelson, 42, of Lyons, Colo., was charged with a count of malicious destruction of property for allegedly lighting a fire near a Cybertruck at the dealership and writing “Nazi” on a dealership sign, according to court records.
Daniel Clarke-Pounder, 24, of South Carolina was also charged this month with arson involving property used for interstate commerce after prosecutors allege he spray-painted “F— Trump” and “Long Live Ukraine” in a parking spot used for people charging their vehicles.
Authorities allege he pulled out five Molotov cocktails and threw them at the chargers, damaging the devices. He faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted, according to prosecutors.
In a letter addressed to the U.S. Trade Representative, Elon Musk’s Tesla warned that retaliatory tariffs could affect production and harm U.S. companies.
Separately from the violence, peaceful protesters have mobilized around the country at Tesla dealerships.
A group of women calling themselves the “Grandma Brigade” gathered outside the Tesla showroom and service center on Pullman Street in Costa Mesa this month to speak out against Musk’s involvement in the federal government.
“Maybe if we hit back economically we’ll be able to show that the United States can’t be bought for a few million dollars from a rich man,” said Debbie Marsteller, one of the members of the group.
But Marsteller was shocked by the vandalism others have unleashed on the dealerships.
“People putting Nazi swastikas on Tesla cars ... it’s absurd to me,” she said. “It doesn’t help our cause.”
