Addressing vandalism against Elon Musk’s car company, Rep. Mike Johnson called the attacks domestic terrorism.
Congress will investigate ongoing threats of violence against Tesla, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on March 12.
“The heroic work of @elonmusk has so panicked the radical Left that they’re now calling him “racist”(?!) and engaging in domestic terrorism to attack Tesla owners and their vehicles!” Johnson posted on social media platform X.
“Congress will investigate the sources of these attacks and help the DOJ & FBI ensure those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he continued.
Threats have been made and some violence committed against the electric car company, which is run by entrepreneur Elon Musk. An adviser to President Donald Trump, Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He has been assisting the Trump administration to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. DOGE has recommended sizable cuts to the federal workforce.
Trump has said he will label threats against Tesla as domestic terrorism.
“I’m going to stop them,” Trump said on March 11. “We catch anybody doing this because they’re harming a great American company.
“And let me tell you, you do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you, and you’re going to go through hell,” he continued.
Trump said that some of the suspects behind the violence against Tesla properties have already been identified.
The president made his remarks as he got into a Tesla outside the White House. Trump said he bought the car as a show of support, but said he cannot drive it for security reasons and that White House staff will be able to use it.
The vandalism has targeted Tesla charging stations and dealerships and there have also been calls to boycott the car company. One of the groups against Tesla is known as “Tesla Takedown.”
“By singling out his biggest donor’s business as somehow outside of that democracy, Trump is yet again showing us who he is: a corrupt would-be king. Americans won’t stand for that,” the group said in a statement.
“Peaceful protest on public property is not domestic terrorism,” the statement said.
Musk responded on X on March 4, posting “Damaging the property of others, aka vandalism, is not free speech!”
The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency sent a March 12 letter requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel investigate the actions against Tesla.
The letter cites incidents such as seven Tesla charging stations near Boston being set on fire on March 3, and gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership in Portland, Oregon, on March 6.
“These attacks, which seem to involve coordinated acts of vandalism, arson, and other acts of violence, seriously threaten public safety,” wrote the subcommittee, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).