Accused Tesla Arsonists Face Up to 20 Years in Prison for ‘Domestic Terrorism’
Earlier this month, as President Donald Trump sought to shore up Tesla‘s sagging stock price by displaying some cars from bestie Elon Musk‘s automaker in the White House driveway, he vowed to come down hard on people charged for violent attacks on the company’s dealerships. “I will do that,” he said when asked if he would label such perpetrators domestic terrorists. “We catch anybody doing it — because they’re harming a great American company.”
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi followed up on that promise, announcing that three defendants have been brought up on “severe charges” for their alleged role in arsons targeting Tesla properties. “All three defendants will face the full force of the law for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations,” the Justice Department press release states. Bondi’s office had previously hinted at these charges in a Tuesday release that added: “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.”
“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said on Thursday. “Let this be a warning: If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” While she did not specify the charges against three defendants accused of lighting fires (or attempting to) with Molotov cocktails in Oregon, Colorado, and South Carolina, the department announcement stated that, if convicted, they could receive a “minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison.”
While an American citizen cannot be charged with “domestic terrorism” per se, the term is defined by the U.S. criminal code as activities that “involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State” and “appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or “influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.” But Bondi appears set to prosecute based on a federal statute that holds: “Whoever maliciously damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years.” In that case, it would seem the “domestic terrorism” label is more about placating Trump and Musk than legal strategy.
Meanwhile, there have been no charges as yet related to the suspected arson of Tesla chargers outside Boston, two separate bouts of gunfire at a Portland-area Tesla dealership, or the torching and shooting of Teslas at a repair facility in Las Vegas, all within the past month. Other Tesla dealerships and vehicles on lots around the country have been vandalized with spray paint, some of it denouncing Musk as a Nazi due to his right-wing extremism and his salute at an inauguration event in January that white nationalists recognized as a “Sieg Heil” gesture. (He claimed it was not.)
The company is also up against the public’s wrath in part because Musk is dismantling federal agencies as the de facto head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), firing thousands of government workers, and even threatening programs including Social Security. Between gutting such institutions on behalf of the Trump administration and his toxic politics, he has inspired Tesla Takedown, a peaceful grassroots movement of tens of thousands who have turned out to protest the company worldwide over several weeks, picketing Tesla centers and encouraging a boycott. The campaign also calls for Tesla owners to sell their cars and investors to dump their stock, which suffered its biggest drop in five years last week. Since Trump took office, it has lost all the gains it made when the share price soared following his election victory, shedding a third of its value in the past month alone.
Musk has taken to painting himself and Tesla as innocent victims. “Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company?” he posted to his X account on Thursday, sharing images of burned cars and graffitied dealerships. “I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction!” He warned that “Tesla has ramped up security and activated Sentry Mode on all vehicles at stores,” referring to the cars’ ability to record its surroundings via several cameras. The official brand meanwhile posted: “Smile, you’re on camera.” Musk called this “Bad news for criminals.”
And, in between comments demonizing trans people as “violent” — incidentally on the same day Teen Vogue published an interview in which his estranged trans daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, excoriated him as a “pathetic man-child” — Musk shared Bondi’s announcement of severe charges for the three people arrested in connection with suspected dealership arsons. Here, the embattled oligarch took a more triumphant tone: “The hammer of justice strikes,” he declared.
