AG Bondi Calls Vandalism on Tesla Property ‘Domestic Terrorism’

Multiple Tesla vehicles, showrooms, and charging stations have been attacked across the United States.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during President Donald Trump's visit to the Department of Justice in Washington on March 14, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on March 18 condemned recent acts of vandalism on Tesla property and confirmed that the Department of Justice has charged several perpetrators behind the attacks.

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Bondi said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences.

“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.”

Bondi made the remarks on the same day that a fire was started at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas, and multiple vehicles were shot at.

Dori Koren, assistant sheriff at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news briefing that the suspect behind the attack used Molotov cocktails to ignite the vehicles and fired multiple rounds at them before fleeing. The word “resist” was scrawled in all caps on the building.

At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged, Koren said.

“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” he told reporters.

So far, no arrests have been made in connection with the blaze.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a special government employee, condemned the Las Vegas attack in a statement on social media platform X, calling it “insane and deeply wrong.”

“Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks,” Musk wrote.

A day prior to the fire at the Las Vegas Tesla facility, two Cybertrucks made by the electric vehicle manufacturer were damaged at a dealership in south Kansas City, the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement, without providing further details.

Tesla Showrooms, Charging Stations Targeted

Both incidents follow a string of other attacks on Tesla vehicles, showrooms, and charging stations across the country, along with calls for a boycott and protests outside Tesla dealerships.

Demonstrators have raised concerns over Musk’s role in the sweeping cuts to the federal workforce that have been made along with the cancellation of contracts related to humanitarian programs since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

DOGE identifies wasteful government spending and makes recommendations to increase efficiency, which it says has so far saved taxpayers $115 billion.

On Feb. 28, a man who identifies as a woman was charged by prosecutors in connection with a series of acts of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, including the throwing of Molotov cocktails at vehicles and the spray painting of the words “Nazi cars” on the building housing the dealership.

In a March 3 incident, seven charging stations were set on fire at a mall outside Boston.

On March 6, police in Oregon said they were investigating after a Tesla dealership was damaged by gunfire overnight.

Just one day later, a man accidentally set himself on fire as he burned three Tesla chargers in the parking lot of a mall in South Carolina.

Trump, who recently purchased a red Tesla S model, has condemned the attacks and said he would consider labeling perpetrators as domestic terrorists.

“Those people are going to go through a big problem when we catch them. We’ve got a lot of cameras up; we already know who some of them are. We’re going to catch them. And they’re bad guys. They’re the same guys that screw around with our schools and universities, the same garbage,” Trump told reporters at the White House on March 11.

Authorities are currently probing the recent acts of vandalism.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.