Man charged with destroying 5 Teslas in Las Vegas amid anti-Musk wave
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The word 'Resist' was spray-painted at the premises of a Tesla business in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 18.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – A man who allegedly set fire to five Teslas and sprayed them with bullets from a semi-automatic rifle appeared in a US court on March 27 to face federal arson charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Paul Hyon Kim, 36, is suspected of being behind the assault on a Tesla business in Las Vegas, among a wave of attacks targeting Mr Elon Musk’s electric car brand as anger rises over government funding cuts he is overseeing.
The DOJ said emergency services were called to the Tesla repair centre on March 18 after reports of gun shots.
“During the investigation, it was determined that Molotov cocktails and a .30 calibre AR-style firearm were used to damage and destroy five Tesla vehicles, and graffiti was sprayed to write ‘Resist’ on the front of the building,” the statement said.
Kim was arrested a week later. He has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of arson.
He faces up to 20 years in prison on the arson charge alone.
“The Department of Justice has been clear: Anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“We will continue to find, arrest and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learnt.”
Mr Musk, the South African-born billionaire chief of Tesla and SpaceX, is leading President Donald Trump’s ruthless cost-cutting drive
Several Tesla dealerships and a number of cars around the country have been vandalised in recent weeks and the company’s stock price has plummeted
