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Donald Trump warns of jail time for ‘sabotaging’ Tesla vehicles: ‘We're looking for you’
Trump posted the warning on his Truth Social handle, saying that the authorities were ‘looking for you’.
US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that those who get caught sabotaging Tesla vehicles could land in prison for up to 20 years.
Donald Trump posted the warning on his Truth Social handle, saying that the authorities were ‘looking for you’.
“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!!!” he wrote in the post.
The development comes as Tesla faces widespread protests across the United States ever since its CEO Elon Musk became involved in the corridors of power in Washington. Several Tesla vehicles have faced vandalism in recent weeks, with even molotov cocktails thrown at the company's dealerships and cars by those not happy with Musk's actions as the head of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The department has fired thousands of federal workers to reduce the growing government expenditure. Several states and organisations have used DOGE in courts across the country.
Is Tesla vandalism akin to ‘domestic terrorism’?
Donald Trump's statement is similar to the one issued by US attorney general Pam Bondi on Tuesday who called the attacks on Tesla vehicles “nothing short of domestic terrorism” and vowed to impose severe consequences for those involved in the crime.
The only difference in the two statements was the quantum of punishment for these transgressions. The attorney general proposed a lighter sentence than the President.
"The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences," Pam Bondi was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Bondi added that the authorities would continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, “including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes”.
The attorney's general's statement comes in the aftermath of a fire at a Tesla Collision Centre in Las Vegas early on Tuesday morning. Five Tesla vehicles were damaged according to police officials quoted by ABC News, in this latest attack on the electric vehicle company owned by Elon Musk.
Officials stated that not only were the vehicles burnt, but the word “RESIST” was spray-painted across the doors of the facility. Three rounds of bullets were also shot at the rest of the Tesla vehicles.
