Tesla vandalism now a hate crime in Washington
American authorities are responding to a series of disturbing, high-profile incidents by treating them as ‘hate crimes’ attracting severe punishment.
American police are starting to treat vandalism of Tesla vehicles, dealerships and infrastructure as a “hate crime” due to the brand’s ties to Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
Musk’s link to the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has provoked protests ranging from picket lines to firebombings and even shooting incidents at showrooms.
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Police in Washington DC released photographs of people suspected of vandalising Tesla vehicles and said “the Metropolitan Police Department is asking for the community’s assistance in identifying two suspects involved in defacing private property (hate/bias) offences involving Teslas in the District”.
Police said their suspects “wrote political hate speech on to the victims’ Tesla vehicles”.
“The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating these offences as potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” a police statement said.
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“The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered.
“A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
The development drew commentary in the US, where the government has established specific laws around Federal hate crimes.
The US Department of Justice’s definition for federal hate crimes includes offences motivated by race, colour, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability – but not politics.
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US publication Politico said the “hate crime” classification by police in Washington “shows just how far the capital will go to placate the Trump administration”.
The outlet quoted Patrice Sulton, executive director of the D.C. Justice Lab as saying “it’s a good example of how you can have well-intentioned legislation that leads to absurd results”.
“You get to just weaponise something that’s not the purpose for which it was passed,” he said.
The Washington Post reported that the crime being investigated by D.C. police involved cars being defaced with the slogan: “Ask me about my support of Nazis”.
It follows a daring ploy by anti-Tesla protesters who published private contact details of Tesla owners and people linked to the Trump administration online, including those of FBI director Kash Patel who has described Tesla vandalism as “domestic terrorism”.
The FBI has been investigating the increase in violent activity toward Tesla, and over the last few days, we have taken additional steps to crack down and coordinate our response.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 24, 2025
This is domestic terrorism. Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice. https://t.co/U4VYh8XEve
President Trump lashed out at Tesla vandals on social media last week, saying “I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20-year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla”.
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