(PKG) POLICE ARREST ALLEGED TESLA VANDAL AS BRAND FLAILS (930pET)

(CNN) — A man suspected of setting fire to several Tesla vehicles at a repair facility in Las Vegas last week has been arrested, authorities announced Thursday.

Police took a man identified as Paul Kim, 36, into custody on Wednesday evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said during a news conference.

Kim is facing multiple felony counts including third-degree arson, unlawful possession of explosive and incendiary devices, destroying property and discharging a firearm into a vehicle or structure, Koren said.

Later Thursday, Kim was taken from state custody into federal custody, an FBI spokesperson told CNN. Kim now faces federal charges of arson and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm.

He appeared in federal court for a detention hearing Friday without restraints and was temporarily remanded to federal custody until his continued detention hearing on Monday, according to the judge’s order.

CNN has reached out to the public defense attorneys representing Kim for a comment.

In a federal complaint filed Thursday, an FBI agent testified that a car seen on several surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the Tesla facility matches Kim’s personal vehicle. His cell phone was also in the area less than an hour before police were first called about the fires, according to the complaint.

The FBI discovered that Kim owns firearms and equipment consistent with the rounds fired at the Tesla vehicles, the agent said.

Koren said a review of surveillance footage shows that around 2:45 a.m. on March 18, someone dressed in all black attire, gloves and with a concealed face approached the Tesla facility and used what appeared to be a rifle to shoot at surveillance cameras.

The suspect then sprayed the word “RESIST” in pink paint across the front doors of the facility, Koren said. He proceeded to shoot at multiple vehicles and used a Molotov cocktail to set them on fire.

In a search of Kim’s home, agents found pink paint and “multiple black hoodies” and face masks, according to the criminal complaint. They also found what they characterized as a handwritten getaway route from the Tesla facility.

Five vehicles were damaged including three that were destroyed, the assistant sheriff said.

Koren said authorities are still working to determine a motive.

Police say they believe Kim acted alone and there is currently no threat to the public.

Police departments across the United States have been investigating a wave of attacks on showrooms, charging stations and vehicles belonging to Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk has taken on a controversial federal cost-cutting role in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Evans cautioned against the ongoing attacks on Tesla facilities.

“There’s nothing courageous or noble about firebombing private property and terrorizing your local community,” Evans said Thursday. “The self-righteous mob that’s cheering you on today to commit acts on violence on their behalf will leave you high and dry and forget about you tomorrow. At the end of day, you and you alone will be held responsible and face the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence.”

In a separate incident, 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder was arrested on criminal charges Tuesday related to an arson at a North Charleston, South Carolina Tesla charging station on March 7, according to the Justice Department. Witnesses reported seeing a man who sprayed an expletive against Trump and “Long Live Ukraine” in red paint in the parking lot, the agency said.

“The man then pulled out five incendiary explosive devices, commonly known (as) Molotov cocktails, and threw them at the Tesla chargers, damaging the chargers,” the agency said in a news release Wednesday. CNN has contacted an attorney for Clarke-Pounder for comment on his behalf.

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement Tuesday.

Bondi said the Department of Justice has already charged “several perpetrators with that in mind,” including in cases that involve charges with long-term mandatory minimum sentences.

Surveillance video showed a person dressed in black shooting at the cars and igniting two of them with Molotov cocktails, according to police. One unexploded Molotov cocktail was found inside a third car and is now being examined for evidence.

No injuries were reported, and the fire department extinguished the fires before they could reach the vehicles’ batteries.

On March 3, seven Tesla charging stations in a mall outside of Boston were set on fire. 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 vandalizing vehicles and a showroom.

“This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X.
“Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.”

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the latest incident in Las Vegas, said Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office.

“To those who might think that something like this is justifiable or potentially even admirable, we want you to know this is a federal crime,” Evans added.

Last week, Bondi announced an investigation and vowed to crack down on vandalism against Tesla vehicles and showrooms.

“If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re coming after you. And if you’re funding this, we’re coming after you. We’re going to find out who you are,” Bondi said on Fox Business.

While there have been no reports of injuries amid the reports of vandalism, the incidents pose a potential financial problem for Tesla. The company faces declining sales for the first time because of increased competition and backlash over Musk’s contentious role in the Trump administration.

Tesla recently reported the first drop in annual sales in its history, and there are indications sales could be down again this quarter. While overall electric vehicle sales in Europe surged by 34% in January, sales of Teslas plummeted 50%. Tesla’s sales fell 29% in China — the company’s second-largest market after the United States — in the first two months of the year, according to Reuters.

And Tesla’s US sales dropped 16% between December and January, according to an estimate from Cox Automotive.

CNN’s Auzinea Bacon, Chris Isidore, Hanna Park and Emma Moody contributed to this reporting.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.