Bomb squad called after Texas police find incendiary devices at Tesla dealership
Austin, Texas, police on Monday said they recovered multiple incendiary devices at a local Tesla dealership as protests and vandalism directed at Tesla vehicles and CEO Elon Musk escalate nationwide.
Officers responded just after 8 a.m. Monday to a report of suspicious devices at a dealership in north Austin and called the department’s bomb squad to investigate. The devices were deemed incendiary and confiscated safely.
The episode remains under investigation but adds to a growing list of incidents nationwide described as “domestic terrorism” by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has vowed to prosecute offenders. On Thursday, the Justice Department accused three individuals of allegedly using Molotov cocktails to set Tesla vehicles or charging stations afire in Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina.
Two days earlier, someone set five cars on fire at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas and spray-painted the word “resist” in red on the facility in what police called a targeted assault.
Frustration has been growing among Musk’s critics over his work through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Trump administration’s effort to significantly trim the federal workforce.
Tesla stock had seen its stock plummet by more than 50% since December as of last Thursday, but the company has made gains in recent days.
Florida man charged after SUV nearly hits protesters
Still, tensions have boiled on both sides. This weekend, police in Florida arrested 44-year-old Andrew Dutil, accused of driving an SUV into a crowd of protestors outside a Tesla dealership. Dutil, of suburban West Palm Beach, is being held without bail on one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
That incident took place at a dealership near the Florida Turnpike, where about a hundred demonstrators were picketing against DOGE’s federal cutbacks when witnesses said a black Nissan SUV drove onto the curb, nearly striking several protesters.
An employee of the dealership said Dutil walked into the business and said he supported Tesla before walking back out, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The protests and uproar over Musk and Tesla haven't only prompted action from the Department of Justice. House DOGE Subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said the committee had sent a letter to Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel requesting an investigation into what they called “organized” attacks against Musk, Tesla and the DOGE effort.
The billionaire remains one of President Donald Trump's allies. The president last week shopped for a Tesla at the White House earlier this month, selecting a red sedan and calling it a "great product."