President Donald Trump said Friday that people who attack Tesla property should be sent to El Salvador to serve out their prison terms. He posted the statement on Truth Social, adding that those convicted of setting fire to Tesla cars or vandalizing the company’s locations could face up to 20 years behind bars.
“Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” Trump wrote.
The comment came just hours after Trump warned that anyone involved in sabotaging Tesla vehicles or infrastructure would be hunted down and prosecuted.
“People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!” he said in a separate post.
These threats follow a series of arrests in connection to attacks on Tesla showrooms, charging stations, and vehicles across the country. Attorney General Pam Bondi released a Department of Justice statement on Thursday, calling it a “wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties.” Bondi appeared on Fox News a day earlier, claiming the incidents were not random acts of violence but coordinated actions.
Trump targets Tesla attackers after arrests and Tesla stock collapse
Bondi said, “They’re targeting Tesla owners, they’re targeting Tesla dealerships. They’re targeting Elon Musk, who is out there trying to save our country, and it will not be tolerated.” She also said, “These are not isolated, individual events.” Bondi did not provide evidence to support the claim that the attacks were organized.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general on Wednesday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images – NPR
Three defendants were named in the DOJ press release. The most recent case involves Daniel Brendan Kurt Clarke-Pounder, who was arrested on March 7 in South Carolina. He’s accused of setting fire to multiple Tesla charging stations. The charge filed in U.S. District Court was for arson of property in interstate commerce. Court records confirm he was released under supervision earlier this week.
The second case involves Lucy Grace Nelson, who was charged in Colorado federal court on February 26. She’s accused of throwing incendiary devices at Tesla vehicles and spray-painting anti-Musk messages like “Nazi” and “F— Musk” on Tesla property. Those incidents reportedly occurred over three nights between late January and early February.
The third case centers on Adam Matthew Lansky, charged in Portland, Oregon. According to federal charges, Lansky threw Molotov cocktails at Tesla vehicles on January 20, the same day Trump was sworn in for his second term. Lansky was charged with illegal possession of an unregistered destructive device.
None of the defendants have been charged with “domestic terrorism,” which is not a federal crime. However, the DOJ says all three face possible sentences between 5 and 20 years. “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a written statement on Thursday.
While the DOJ release said Bondi “announced” the charges, all three cases had already been filed and publicly reported before the Thursday statement. The latest case involving Clarke-Pounder had been filed nearly a week earlier, based on court records listed in the PACER system.
Tesla faces financial pressure as government rallies behind Musk
These attacks come as Tesla faces serious financial problems. The company’s stock has lost hundreds of billions in market value in recent months. That includes the collapse of value gained after Trump’s election win in November 2024, when Elon Musk reportedly contributed over $250 million to Trump’s campaign.
Musk is now heading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which aims to slash federal spending and cut down the size of the federal workforce. The role has made Musk a political lightning rod and has added fuel to the backlash against his company. Many critics of Musk’s work with DOGE have directed their anger at Tesla facilities.
Despite the chaos, Trump and Musk appeared together on March 11 at a public event on the White House grounds, where Tesla vehicles were on display. Trump said he planned to buy a Tesla for himself. He also told the crowd he had already bought a Cybertruck for his granddaughter, Kai Trump.
On March 14, Tesla announced a recall of almost every Cybertruck sold in the United States, after reports that trim panels were falling off. The recall comes during a stretch of plummeting sales in international markets and declining resale values for Tesla vehicles across multiple regions.
Late Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick went on Fox News to encourage Americans to invest in Tesla stock. “Buy Tesla,” Lutnick said. His comment was unusual. It’s rare for a high-ranking government official to promote a company’s stock in the middle of an ongoing criminal investigation amid widespread financial losses.
Trump’s latest comments suggest he plans to make an example of anyone tied to violence or property damage against Tesla. He’s leaning on criminal sentencing and even international incarceration. The mention of El Salvador prisons, known globally for harsh conditions, raised eyebrows. It also echoes Trump’s previous mass deportation policies from his first term, where alleged gang members were sent to prisons in the same country.
The Biden-era silence on Tesla had ended. Under Trump, it’s loud, aggressive, and personal. The administration is using court cases, federal charges, DOJ press releases, and even jail threats in foreign countries to defend Tesla and Musk.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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