Cartoon by Nick Anderson

Surge In Tesla Protests: AG Bondi Says Justice Department Will Investigate

By Conor Murray

Forbes: Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday she is opening an investigation into instances of vandalism at Tesla dealerships as protests against company CEO and DOGE chief Elon Musk grow across the country, days after President Donald Trump threatened protesters will go through “hell” and be labeled domestic terrorists.

Bondi said in a Fox Business interview Friday morning she has directed an investigation be opened into the Tesla protests to prosecute perpetrators and to find anyone who may be funding these protests. “If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we're coming after you,” Bondi said, stating one person who has been jailed for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a dealership is facing 20 years in prison.

DID TRUMP SAY TESLA VANDALS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DOMESTIC TERRORISTS?

Yes. During a demonstration at the White House on Tuesday, in which five Tesla vehicles were lined up with Musk in attendance, right-wing Real America’s Voice reporter Brian Glenn suggested to Trump that “some say they should be labeled domestic terrorists.” Trump responded: “I will do that. I’ll do it. I’m going to stop them,” adding, “You do it to Tesla and you do it to any company, we're going to catch you and you're going to go through hell.” Glenn has tweeted critically of the Tesla protests, urging the government to “shut it down immediately” in a post on X, which he made in response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who posted a letter she and other representatives sent to the Department of Justice and FBI urging them to prosecute Tesla vandals for domestic terrorism. A day prior to Trump’s Tesla demonstration, he said on Truth Social he would purchase a Tesla as a show of support for Musk, slamming the “Radical Left Lunatics” for protesting the car company, which Trump claimed is “illegal.”

COULD TESLA VANDALS BE PROSECUTED AS DOMESTIC TERRORISTS?

There is no federal charge for domestic terrorism, so individuals suspected to have committed acts of domestic terrorism must instead be charged with other crimes. The United States federal criminal code defines domestic terrorism as “acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State” that are intended to coerce either the civilian population or government policy, or to impact the government through “mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.”

SURPRISING FACT

Tesla protests have also taken place internationally. Twelve Tesla vehicles were set on fire in Toulouse, France, on March 2 in an incident prosecutors say was “not at all accidental.” A Tesla factory near Berlin was set on fire March 5, causing a power outage. A far-left group, Volcano Group, claimed responsibility for the apparent arson in Berlin.

WHAT IS “TESLA TAKEDOWN?”

Some peaceful protests against Tesla dealerships in cities across the United States have been linked to “Tesla Takedown,” an organization that urges people to “sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines,” according to its website. Actor Alex Winter is a key figure behind the protests, which he began organizing in February. He posted on BlueSky on Tuesday that Tesla Takedown is a “peaceful, grassroots protest movement formed by many thousands of concerned citizens,” hitting back at Trump’s claim the Tesla protests are “illegal.” >>>