(CNN) – A person dressed in black shot and set fire to various Tesla vehicles on Tuesday in a repair facility in Las Vegas, the police said, and now the FBI is investigating it as a possible act of terrorism.
“This was a targeted attack on a Tesla facility,” said assistant Sheriff Dori Koren at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in a news conference on Tuesday.
Several 911 phone calls were made around 2:45 am with a fire in the facility, Koren said.
“Officers discovered various vehicles, as well as the word ‘resistance’ reserved on the front doors of the company,” he said.
Surveillance video showed a person dressed in black shooting on the cars and stuck two of them with Molotov cocktails, according to the police. A non -displaced Molotov cocktail was found in a third car and is now being investigated for evidence.
No injuries were reported and the fire brigade extinguished the fires before they could reach the batteries of the vehicles.
Police departments in the United States have investigated a wave of attacks on Tesla showrooms, charging stations and vehicles.
Seven charging stations in a shopping center outside of Boston were set on fire on 3 March. Five days later in New York City, six protesters were arrested for occupying a showroom. In Colorado a woman was accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and destroying vehicles and a showroom.
“This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X. “Tesla only makes electric cars and did nothing to earn these bad attacks.”
The Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI is investigating the last incident in Las Vegas, said Spencer Evans, special agent responsible for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office.
“For those who may think that something so justified or potentially is even admirable, we want you to know that this is a federal crime,” Evans added.
Last week the American Attorney General Pam Bondi announced an investigation and promised to abandon Vandalism against Tesla vehicles and showrooms.
“If you are going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealer, do everything, you better look out because we come after you. And if you finance this, we will find out.
Although there have been no reports of injuries in the midst of reports of vandalism, the incidents are a potentially financial problem for Tesla. The company is first confronted with a falling turnover due to the increased competition and recoil on the controversial role of Musk in the Trump administration.
Tesla recently reported the first decrease in the annual turnover in its history, and there are indications that the sale of this quarter could fall again. While the total sale of electric vehicles in Europe increased by 34% in January, Teslas’ turnover decreased 50%. Tesla’s turnover fell by 29% in China – the second largest market of the company after the United States – in the first two months of the year, according to Reuters.
And Tesla’s American turnover fell by 16% between December and January, according to an estimate of Cox Automotive.
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