A nationwide arson and vandalism spree against Tesla dealerships and vehicles highlights growing opposition to the company’s CEO.
TEMPE, Ariz.—After Tesla CEO Elon Musk became the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the electric vehicle company, by proxy, has been subjected to growing violence by militant opponents of the federal government program cuts and federal workforce downsizing.
In the United States and Canada, Tesla showrooms have been attacked and Tesla vehicle owners have been threatened and doxxed.
On March 18, an individual dressed in black set fire to two Tesla Cybertrucks at a repair center in Las Vegas damaging three other vehicles.
The word “Resist” was spray-painted across the front entrance of the building.
On Feb. 19, a suspect allegedly threw eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla showroom in Salem, Oregon, while armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle.
The U.S. Attorney General has deemed the attacks acts of domestic terrorism.
“The era of committing crimes without consequence has ended,” Bondi said in a statement announcing the arrests of three individuals allegedly involved in recent attacks on Tesla dealerships and property.
“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.”
A group named TeslaTakedown, which has sponsored Tesla protests, is calling for a Global Day of Action on March 29, urging followers to “dump your stock, join the picket lines.”
“Elon Musk is destroying our democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it. We are taking action at Tesla to stop Musk’s illegal coup,” TeslaTakedown said on its website.
“Stopping Musk will help save lives and protect our democracy.”
Since February, the self-described grassroots movement TeslaTakedown has emerged to oppose Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration and DOGE, which says it has saved $130 billion for taxpayers so far.
The Takedown group urges people to “take action at Tesla showrooms everywhere. Sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines—hurting Tesla is stopping Musk.”
By Allan Stein
