A college student was arrested by federal authorities in Boston after being accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership in Missouri in March.
Owen McIntire, 19, who was in his hometown of Parkville, Mo., for spring break on March 17, is accused of driving to a Tesla dealership near Kansas City and launching the Molotov cocktails at a Cybertruck, which caused a fire and thousands of dollars in damage after it spread to a second Cybertruck, according to the Justice Department.
McIntire, who attends college in Boston, allegedly concocted two homemade incendiary devices and used them to destroy the Cybertrucks, which cost US$105,485 and $107,495, according to the Justice Department.
According to the criminal complaint, filed in the Western District of Missouri on April 18, McIntire is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, shortly before midnight on March 17, an officer with the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department (KCMOPD) saw smoke coming from a grey Cybertruck parked in the KC Tesla Center parking lot.
The officer tried to use a fire extinguisher before having to call the Kansas City Fire Department to assist as the fire spread to a second Cybertruck in the parking lot.
When firefighters arrived, they found both Cybertrucks on fire before getting the blaze under control. Both Cybertrucks were covered with a fire blanket to prevent the fire from reigniting and spreading to other vehicles.
According to ABC affiliate KMBC News, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said the police department deemed the incident “suspicious in nature.”
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Authorities found video footage of a person who they believe to be McIntire, wearing a large white hat, lighting the devices and throwing them at the Cybertruck before walking away.
Authorities found the hat near the dealership, with DNA evidence confirming it matched McIntire, according to the affidavit.
Owen McIntire was believed to have been wearing a large white hat, which was found near the scene.
U.S. Department of Justice
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, according to a press release from the Justice Department. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
“Crimes have consequences. The people behind these violent and dangerous attacks on private property will face decades in prison — we will not make deals and we will not negotiate,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said McIntire’s arrest was the second arrest of a suspect charged with targeting Tesla last week and claimed that it was more proof that “the FBI will not stand for these destructive acts.”
“These actions are dangerous, they are illegal, and we are going to arrest those responsible. We will work with our partners at the Department of Justice to hold accountable anyone who commits such crimes. I commend our FBI teams in Kansas City and Boston for their work,” Patel added.
Acting director Dan Driscoll of ATF said ATF special agents and forensic experts “recovered and analyzed key evidence—including Molotov cocktails—used in this deliberate and dangerous arson attack.”
“This wasn’t vandalism — it was a violent criminal act. Thanks to the relentless work of ATF special agents, and our close coordination with the FBI and local law enforcement, we now have a suspect in custody,” Driscoll said.
“I am committed to ensuring ATF continues to stand on the front lines of public safety. ATF will not tolerate those who incite political violence in our communities.”
The FBI Kansas City and Boston field offices, the ATF and the Kansas City Police Department are investigating the case.
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Recent months have seen a slew of targeted acts against Tesla, ever since Elon Musk was put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Trump shortly after he took office.
A similar incident took place in Las Vegas at the Tesla Collision Center on March 18.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said officials received multiple calls on March 18, including from a person who said they had heard gunshots. Authorities said a suspect armed with a gun and Molotov cocktails launched a “targeted attack” on the Tesla location, firing shots and torching multiple vehicles.
“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” Koren told reporters during a press conference. “We do believe that it is isolated at this time. We do not believe there is further threat to the general public.”
The suspect wore all black and “at least five Tesla vehicles were damaged, two of which were engulfed in flames,” Koren added.
Koren said the attacker sprayed the word “RESIST” in all-caps in red spray paint on the collision centre’s door and one unignited Molotov cocktail was recovered from the scene.
“As a precaution, like we do in many of these incidents, we have increased our police presence, in particular at Tesla locations or any other Tesla-related locations in the valley.”
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On March 13, gunshots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon for the second time in a week, causing extensive damage to cars and showroom windows, The Associated Press reported. A similar shooting happened a week before, on March 6, at the same location.
On March 8, footage captured during protests at a Manhattan dealership shows police removing a number of demonstrators from inside the premises, where glass doors had been shattered.
People also gathered outside the facility and could be heard chanting, “We need clean air, not another billionaire.”
In Toulouse, France, 12 Tesla vehicles were set on fire outside a dealership on March 5, destroying eight and severely damaging four. Authorities have since opened a criminal investigation.
The same day, seven Tesla charging stations at a mall in Littleton, Mass., about 60 kilometres outside of Boston, were burned, causing heavy damage and sending up plumes of thick smoke.
In February, federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on the building.
The dealership estimated that several incidents of vandalism over the course of about a month caused between $5,000 and $20,000 in damages, with an estimated $5,000 in damage to the vehicles.
In January, following a post-inaugural speech where Musk made multiple Nazi salute-like motions, U.K.- and Germany-based activist groups projected a still image of the billionaire tech mogul mid-gesture alongside the words “Heil Tesla” onto the outside of the company’s Gigafactory in Berlin.
—with files from Global News’ Michelle Butterfield and The Associated Press