An individual sprayed the word “resist” in red before setting multiple vehicles on fire at a Tesla service centre in what police are calling a “targeted attack”. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the individual, dressed in all black, fired at least three rounds into different vehicles and wielded both a firearm and multiple Molotov cocktails.
Officers responded around 2:45 AM local time after receiving multiple reports of flames at the collision centre. During the investigation, authorities discovered an unused Molotov cocktail inside a vehicle, the department said during a press briefing.
Elon Musk’s response
Elon Musk has condemned the attack, calling it “terrorism”.
Terrorism https://t.co/Jthfv6gEsq
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025
Quoting another post that shows several Tesla vehicles engulfed in flames, Musk wrote, “This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong.”
He added, “Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”
This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025
Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks. https://t.co/Fh1rcfsJPh
In yet another post on his platform X (formerly Twitter), he blamed the left, describing it as a party of “violence” and “hate”.
The left is the party of violence & hate https://t.co/3Y4S2shDqM
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025
Since Elon Musk joined Donald Trump’s government as the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Tesla vehicles have increasingly become targets of vandalism. People have been setting them on fire, defacing them, and even selling them off while pasting anti-Musk stickers in protest. Critics of his initiatives, including federal worker layoffs and a freeze on foreign aid, have also launched a coordinated effort to boycott Tesla.
South Korea’s second-biggest automobile manufacturer, Kia, joined the protestors as they shared an Instagram post in February. The post shows its small SUV EV3 with a sticker that reads, “I bought this after Elon went crazy.”
Anti-Musk sentiment continues to grow online, with one of the stickers being sold reading, “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.” Others read, “Elon killed my resale value,” and “Anti-Elon Tesla Club.”
Donald Trump bought Tesla
Amid the ongoing anti-Musk protests, US President Donald Trump called Tesla CEO as a “truly great American” and purchased a red Tesla last week to show his support. The vehicle, he said, would be used by White House staff.
“I’m gonna buy [Tesla] because it’s a great product as good as it gets and this man [Elon Musk] has devoted his energy and his life to doing this, and I think he has been treated unfairly by a very small group of people,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
He added, “I just want people to know that you can’t be penalised for being a patriot. And he is a great patriot. He has also done an incredible job with Tesla. I mean, nobody else has a car company started up in the last 30 years that’s been successful, I don’t think so.”
“But because he’s finding all sorts of terrible things that have taken place against our country, we want to penalise him in an economic sense. And I just think that’s very unfair. So I just wanted to make a statement. I’m going to buy one now,” he went on to say.
