The U.S. Attorney General said about 80 Tesla vehicles were damaged at a Canadian car dealership as he announced charges Thursday against three people accused of using Molotov cocktails to light a Tesla vehicle and a charging station.
On Wednesday, police in Hamilton, Ontario were called to a dealer on Wentworth Street to report damage to a vehicle parked outside. Hamilton police said in a news release that the vehicle had deep scratches, flat tires and other damage.
Authorities are reviewing security videos and asking the public for help.
Similar incidents have been occurring in the US over the past few weeks. On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondy announced charges against three “violent Tesla arsonists” following attacks in Colorado, Oregon and South Carolina.
“The days of committing crimes without consequences are over,” Bondy said in a statement. “Let’s make this a warning. If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla’s property, the Department of Justice will put you behind the bar.”
Bondi was called “domestic terrorism,” but no one has been charged with domestic terrorism, not a specific federal crime.
Armed with a restrained AR-15 rifle at a Tesla dealer in Salem, Oregon, he was accused of throwing eight Molotov cocktails, the Justice Department said in a news release.
The arrested in Charleston, South Carolina, said he wrote “a blasphemous message to President Trump regarding Tesla’s charging station” before using Molotov cocktails to ignite the station, the news release said.
In Loveland, Colorado, a person was arrested and accused of trying to light a Tesla vehicle with a Molotov cocktail with fire.
Bondi vowed that all three will “confront the full power of the law.” Their names have not been released. They each face a charge of five years in prison.
On Tuesday, a person armed with a gun and a Molotov cocktail burned a Tesla vehicle at the Tesla Cruising Center in Las Vegas. Police said it was a “target attack” that damaged at least five vehicles, two of which were engulfed in flames.
The attacker “fired three rounds at different Tesla vehicles,” authorities allegedly smeared the word “resistance” in every capital letter on the center door.
Elon Musk, CEO of billionaire Tesla and adviser to President Donald Trump, said on Thursday that Tesla increased security on X and activated sentry mode for all vehicles in the store. The safety features allow the enabled vehicle cameras and sensors to keep powered on and ready to record suspicious activity.
