Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
The FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office has classified an arson attack on a Tesla service center in Las Vegas as a federal crime, following a series of violent incidents targeting the electric carmaker led by Elon Musk.
Several Tesla vehicles were set on fire early Tuesday morning at the Tesla Collision Center on West Badura Avenue. Surveillance footage shows a suspect dressed in black shooting at vehicles before using Molotov cocktails to ignite the blaze, authorities said. A Molotov cocktail that failed to detonate was found inside one of the cars and is being analyzed as evidence.
“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,” said Special Agent Spencer Evans, who leads the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said officers responded to the fire around 2:45 a.m. local time and found multiple vehicles burning.
The word “Resist” had been spray-painted on the front doors of the business, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said during a news conference on Tuesday. Firefighters were able to contain the flames before they reached the vehicles’ batteries.
Musk reacted to the incident on X, calling it “terrorism” and describing the attack as “insane and deeply wrong.” In a separate post, he wrote, “Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”
The attack comes amid a string of similar incidents. Last month, prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman in connection with vandalism at Tesla dealerships, including Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the phrase “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building.
Tesla shares were up 4% at $235 as of Tuesday afternoon.
