FBI investigating Tesla vehicles shot and set on fire at facility in Las Vegas

(CNN) — A person dressed in black shot and set fire to several Tesla vehicles at a repair facility in Las Vegas early Tuesday, police said, in what the FBI is investigating as a possible act of domestic terrorism.

“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a Tuesday news conference.

Several 911 calls were made around 2:45 a.m. reporting a fire at the facility, said Koren.

“Officers discovered several vehicles on fire as well as the word ‘Resist’ spray-painted on the front doors of the business,” he said.

Police departments across the United States have been investigating a wave of attacks on showrooms, charging stations and vehicles belonging to Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk has taken on a controversial federal cost-cutting role in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement Tuesday.

Bondi said the Department of Justice has already charged “several perpetrators with that in mind,” including in cases that involve charges with long-term mandatory minimum sentences.

Surveillance video showed a person dressed in black shooting at the cars and igniting two of them with Molotov cocktails, according to police. One unexploded Molotov cocktail was found inside a third car and is now being examined for evidence.

No injuries were reported, and the fire department extinguished the fires before they could reach the vehicles’ batteries.

On March 3, seven Tesla charging stations in a mall outside of Boston were set on fire. Five days later in New York City, six protesters were arrested for occupying a showroom. In Colorado, a woman was accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and vandalizing vehicles and a showroom.

“This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X.
“Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the latest incident in Las Vegas, said Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office.

“To those who might think that something like this is justifiable or potentially even admirable, we want you to know this is a federal crime,” Evans added.

Last week, Bondi announced an investigation and vowed to crack down on vandalism against Tesla vehicles and showrooms.

“If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re coming after you. And if you’re funding this, we’re coming after you. We’re going to find out who you are,” Bondi said on Fox Business.

While there have been no reports of injuries amid the reports of vandalism, the incidents pose a potential financial problem for Tesla. The company faces declining sales for the first time because of increased competition and backlash over Musk’s contentious role in the Trump administration.

Tesla recently reported the first drop in annual sales in its history, and there are indications sales could be down again this quarter. While overall electric vehicle sales in Europe surged by 34% in January, sales of Teslas plummeted 50%. Tesla’s sales fell 29% in China — the company’s second largest market after the United States — in the first two months of the year, according to Reuters.

And Tesla’s US sales dropped 16% between December and January, according to an estimate from Cox Automotive.

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