President Donald Trump seemed to issue a warning to people who participate in Tesla vandalisms, such as vehicle destruction reports, dealers and charging stations are mounted across the country.
Early Friday morning, Trump posted on his social media platform: “People who get caught in Teslas sabotage will have a very good chance of going to prison for up to twenty years, and that includes donors. We are looking for you !!!”
He also suggested that people recognized as guilty of having participated in crimes related to Tesla could be sent to prison in El Salvador, referring to the controversial decision of the administration to expel members of alleged gangs to the country after Trump signed a proclamation invoking the law on extraterrestrial enemies even if a prescription of the court temporarily blocked the authority.
A member of the Seattle fire service inspects a Tesla Cybertruck burned in a Tesla lot in Seattle, March 10, 2025.
Lindsey Wasson / AP
“I can’t wait to see the sick terrorist thugs undergo 20 years of prison terms for what they do in Elon Musk and Tesla,” said Trump in a assignment. “Maybe they would serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such beautiful conditions.”
Recent attacks on Tesla have been reported to Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Charleston and other cities across the United States since Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, began its role with the Department of Efficiency of the Trump, or Doge.
Friday evening, in a public announcement, the FBI said that the Teslas targeting incidents have been recorded in at least nine states since January, including a criminal fire, shots and graffiti.
“These criminal actions seem to have been carried out by lonely offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night,” said the FBI in the public service. “Individuals need little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and can perceive these attacks as crimes of property without victim.”
The FBI has urged the public to be vigilant and seek suspicious activity in the fields of Tesla dealers.
Friday afternoon, questioned about his comments at the White House, Trump described the suspects of vandalism as “terrorists” and seemed to affirm that what was going on with Tesla vehicles was worse than what happened during the riots of January 6 at the Capitol.
“You didn’t have that on January 6, I can tell you. You had nothing like it on January 6, which is a bit incredible,” said Trump.
Three people were charged with their presumed involvement in recent attacks against the properties of Tesla in Salem, Oregon; Loveland, Colorado; And North Charleston, South Carolina. Adam Lansky de Salem was accused of illegally having a destructive device not registered on March 5, Lucy Grace Nelson from Lyon, Colorado, was accused of a malicious destruction of property on February 27 and Daniel Clarke-Pounder From North Charleston was accused of criminal fire on March 15, according to federal prosecutors.
Lansky and Clarke-Pounder did not plead, but Nelson pleaded not guilty on March 11, according to the judicial archives.
The Attorney General Pam Bondi also spoke out against Tesla’s vandalisms, saying Thursday that the three suspects will be confronted with the “full force of the law” for having allegedly used Molotov cocktails to set fire to electric vehicles and load terminals.
“The days to commit crimes without consequences have ended,” said Bondi in a statement. “Whether it is a warning: if you join this wave of inner terrorism against the properties of Tesla, the Ministry of Justice will put you behind bars.”
Other Tesla incidents continue to arise across the country, with the last last people in Fargo, Northern Dakota, early Friday morning, where firefighters found “a small fire in wooden croustilles at the base of electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot”, according to the Fargo fire service.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by the main advisor to the White House, Tesla and the CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, talks next to a Tesla Model S on the southern lawn of the White House, on March 11, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik / Getty images
The officials said that the fire was considered to be “suspect” and that the cause of the fire was investigated. It is not known if the fire has damaged the charges, the authorities said.
The New York Police Department also requests public help to identify two men who painted a swine cross on a cyber truck on Thursday. The incident is the subject of an investigation by the NYPD hatred working group.
In addition to the company dealing with recent attacks, Tesla’s shares have dropped almost 48% this year and in recent weeks, four higher officers of the company have sold $ 100 million in shares, according to documents from the American Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk, the owner of X, republished the reactions to Trump’s comments on Friday, including a That said, “in particular donors” should be held responsible for these attacks.
A Tesla spokesperson did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comments.
