Tesla vandalism: Trump and AG claim someone ‘coordinate and fund’ them

President Trump and Attorney General Bondi have suggested that someone is “coordinating and funding” the instances of Tesla vandalism in the US.

After calling Tesla vandalism “domestic terrorist” again in a new interview last night, Trump said that he believes that after arresting a few vandals they will find that “the left is funding them.”

Furthermore, Attorney General Bondi issued an official statement regarding the latest “attacks on Tesla property” last night and also suggested that they were people who “coordinate and fund these crimes”:

“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. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”

They didn’t supply any proof to support this claim.

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The comments from the two government officials reflect unsubstantiated comments made by Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Trump’s biggest political donor, last week.

Musk has made general comments about the “left being behind the violence”, but he has also directly claimed that ActBlue, Reid Hoffman, and George Soros are behind the peaceful protests at Tesla stores without providing any evidence that it is the case.

The “Tesla Takedown” movement, which describes itself as a grassroots movement, plans over 100 protests at Tesla stores in coming weeks.

We documented the movement’s beginning, which clearly started with a handful of individuals on BlueSjy, an X competitor. Some Democratic Party entities have promoted since then, but there’s no evidence that they are “behind” them or financing them.

Electrek’s Take

First off, it’s important to differentiate the legal peaceful protests at Tesla stores, which are perfectly, and the dumb vandalism of Tesla properties.

They have nothing to do with each others despite Musk and Trump trying to link them.

Trump even called the protests and boycotts “illegal”. Are you going to force people to buy Tesla vehicles? It makes no sense.

As for the domestic terrorism stuff, I think it’s a slippery slope and I don’t trust the Trump administration not to abuse it. While I think that people torching cars and shooting at buildings can certainly fall into something close to domestic terrorism, albeit a stretch considering other more serious instances, but then I could easily see them using that on people who graffiti a Tesla store.