FBI Investigating Attacks Targeting Tesla Dealerships And Cars
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has confirmed that the agency is actively investigating a series of attacks aimed at Tesla vehicles, dealerships, and related swatting incidents.
President Donald Trump, along with other administration officials, has denounced several of these events as acts of "domestic terrorism" in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role in DOGE-driven reductions to federal agencies and staff, Axios reported.
“Communication and transparency are my priorities. We work for you, the American citizen. Our teams are actively working on the Tesla incidents and the swatting incidents, along with our other responsibilities to keep the Homeland safe. Thank you,” Bongino stated.
Swatting is a form of harassment where a false emergency call is placed to dispatch a large number of armed law enforcement officers to a specific location.
The FBI is treating an incident at a Tesla collision center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, where multiple vehicles were set ablaze and the word “Resist” was spray-painted on the building, as a potential act of terrorism.
According to a statement from the Las Vegas Police Department, a suspect dressed in black “approached the business with incendiary devices. The individual used the devices to set multiple Tesla vehicles on fire. One incendiary device was recovered inside a vehicle un-detonated. It is also believed the individual fired at least three rounds from a firearm at vehicles.”
The FBI, in coordination with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is also investigating an overnight event in which Cyber Trucks at a Tesla dealership in south Kansas City were vandalized, as detailed in a Facebook post by the bureau’s Kansas City field office on Tuesday.
The #TeslaTakedown movement has gained traction worldwide, with vandals targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in several countries. In Canada, safety concerns led to the removal of a Tesla exhibit from this week’s Vancouver International Auto Show.
Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the attacks on Tesla during a Fox News appearance, asserting that the Department of Justice is committed to holding perpetrators accountable.
“I want to ask you about these attacks on Tesla taking place across the country. You’ve recently said that they are acts of domestic terrorism. Obviously, in bringing up the concept of domestic terrorism, I would think that opens up your department and the FBI into investigating who is funding these attacks. Are they organized? What can you tell us about all of this, which many are seeing on their screen right now, at Tesla dealerships? And it’s taking place all over the country,” host Will Cain inquired.
“These attacks are taking place throughout our country. We have charged multiple people. Get ready, more are coming. One we charged in Oregon is facing 5 to 20 years in prison. We filed in Colorado, we filed in South Carolina, there are more coming. And yes, the funding is one thing we are looking at, among many others. I was personally in a meeting about it this morning,” Bondi revealed.
“We are coming after you. We believe these are organized. These are not individuals out there throughout the country doing this on their own. They’re targeting Tesla owners, they’re targeting Tesla dealerships. They’re targeting Elon Musk, who is out there trying to save our country, and it will not be tolerated. We are coming after you. We will find you. And if you are an organized group who is funding this, we’re going to find you too. You better look out and you better stop it,” Bondi warned.
“And to be clear, you said you came out of a meeting this morning. At least to some extent, you are seeing some level of organization and behind-the-scenes funding that you can investigate and potentially prosecute?” Cain followed up.
Bondi responded: “That’s — everything that we’re looking at, yes, we’re looking at all aspects of it. These are not isolated individual events.”