“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” said President Donald Trump in a Friday Truth Social post. “Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!”
Trump was referring to a recent rash of vandalism against Tesla electric vehicles, manufactured by the company where his close ally Elon Musk serves as CEO. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump appointed Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As part of an effort to cut government spending, DOGE has been calling for rounds of mass layoffs at several federal departments, and those controversial moves have been met with criticism and lawsuits.
In early February, Kara Carlson of Bloomberg spoke to Audacy about how Musk’s foray into politics seemed to be impacting electric vehicle sales. Later that month, Audacy reported that Tesla sales had fallen for the first time in 12 years. Musk reportedly lost $16 billion in a day as the company’s stock fell.
At the same time, vandalism against the vehicles increased. Earlier this month, Audacy reported that police in Las Vegas reported at least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in a single morning. They determined it to be a “targeted attack” where two of the vehicles were fully engulfed in flames and others were shot with guns. Other incidents where cars and cybertrucks were set on fire and/or vandalized had been reported over the prior 12 months across the country, and Attorney General Pam Bondi even declared the attacks on Teslas are acts of domestic terrorism.
Bondi has already announced charges against three individuals who may serve up to 20 years for acts against Teslas. In a Thursday press release, she said that: “All three defendants will face the full force of the law for using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations.”
Per the press release, one defendant who was also armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle, was arrested after throwing approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership located in Salem, Ore. Another was Loveland, Colo., after attempting to light Teslas on fire with Molotov cocktails and the third was arrested in Charleston, S.C., for writing profane messages against President Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails.
“Each defendant faces serious charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison,” said the release.
To show solidarity with Musk and Tesla, Trump also made a show of buying his own Tesla right on the White House driveway last Tuesday. In a Thursday Truth Social post, he said that: “People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!”
Business Insider reported Friday that Musk held “a surprise all-hands meeting with Tesla staffers Thursday night,” where he urged employees to hold on to their stock, even though it is roughly have the value that it was in December. Bloomberg reported on the meeting as well, and said that Musk joked about the vandalism against Tesla vehicles.
“If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon,” Musk said. “I understand if you don’t want to buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.”
Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday on “former Tesla die-hards” who are selling their shares amid the media storm surrounding Musk and the company.
“Michael Hanna once admired Elon Musk so much that Tesla made up about 25% of his portfolio,” said the outlet in one example. “But in February, put off by the chief executive’s behavior as part of the Trump administration, Hanna sold the last of his shares.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) – who was former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election that they lost to Trump and current Vice President JD Vance – even took a shot at Tesla and Musk this week. He told a crowd in Wisconsin that his mood lifts when he sees the company’s stock go down.
As the AG goes after vandalism, some of the Trump administration’s support of Tesla may itself be ethically questionable. According to The Washington Post, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Fox News viewers Wednesday night to buy Tesla stock, in “an apparent violation of federal ethics rules that prohibit officials from endorsing products or businesses.”