Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear that acts of vandalism against Tesla would be fully prosecuted as domestic terrorism.
Her comments followed multiple reports of vandalized Tesla vehicles and dealerships. In one case, a suspect set a Tesla service center in Las Vegas, Nevada, ablaze using Molotov cocktails, damaging five vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was the first to refer to the incidences as “terrorism” online.
“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. 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,” Bondi’s Tuesday statement said. “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.”
President Donald Trump also agreed that the crimes looked like domestic terrorism in a Tuesday interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle.
“I think that you will find out they’re paid by people that are very highly political on the left,” Trump said of those convicted of vandalizing the vehicles.
WALZ CELEBRATES TESLA’S STOCK DROPPING: ‘GIVES ME A LITTLE BOOST’
Tesla stock has decreased by 40% over the last year. It peaked before Trump’s inauguration in January at over $428 per share but is sitting at $235 as of Wednesday afternoon.
The backlash against Tesla largely began when Musk came out in support of Trump. Ahead of the election, Musk created a petition specifically for swing state voters, offering $47 for every referral that resulted in a signature via his pro-Trump super PAC, the America PAC. It also hired canvassers in these swing states. Signers of the petition pledged their support for the First and Second amendments, which have been Musk’s cited reasons for endorsing Trump. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Musk said this November would be “the most important election in our lifetime.”