Teen Warned of ‘Decades Behind Bars’ After Tesla Arson Charge

A 19-year-old college student is charged in connection to a firebombing at a Tesla dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday.

Newsweek reached out to the DOJ via online form on Friday for comment.

Why It Matters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has worked in tandem with President Donald Trump during his second term in office. Musk is tasked with heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and has faced fierce backlash amid cuts to the federal budget, including thousands of federal jobs, and the dismantling of entire agencies.

Amid the uproar, Tesla cars and property have been targeted and torched across the United States in apparent retaliation. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement last month that the attacks are “nothing short of domestic terrorism.”

Recent attacks include a fire igniting at a Las Vegas Tesla collision center. Authorities said numerous vehicles were set ablaze and the building’s doors were spray-painted with the word “resist.”

What To Know

The press release issued by the DOJ on Friday says that Owen McIntire was charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire of any property used in interstate commerce.

The University of Massachusetts Boston student was back in his hometown of Parkville, Missouri, for spring break at the time of the arson, according to the DOJ, which said that the incident occurred on March 17 near the Kansas City Tesla Center. An officer saw smoke emitting from a gray Cybertruck and an unbroken “suspected incendiary device,” or Molotov cocktail, nearby, according to federal authorities.

The DOJ says the fire spread to another nearby Cybertruck and the Kansas City Fire Department responded to douse the flames. The Justice Department quoted the Cybertrucks to be worth $105,485 and $107,485. Two charging stations were additionally damaged in the fire, each valued at $550.

What People Are Saying

Bondi, in the release: “Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” Bondi said. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”

FBI Director Kash Patel, in the release: “This is the second arrest this week of a suspect charged with targeting Tesla, more proof that the FBI will not stand for these destructive acts.”

Patel added, “These actions are dangerous, they are illegal, and we are going to arrest those responsible. We will work with our partners at the Department of Justice to hold accountable anyone who commits such crimes. I commend our FBI teams in Kansas City and Boston for their work.”

Acting Director Dan Driscoll of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in the release: “ATF’s Special Agents and forensic experts recovered and analyzed key evidence—including Molotov cocktails—used in this deliberate and dangerous arson attack.”

Driscoll continued, “This wasn’t vandalism — it was a violent criminal act. Thanks to the relentless work of ATF special agents, and our close coordination with the FBI and local law enforcement, we now have a suspect in custody. I am committed to ensuring ATF continues to stand on the front lines of public safety. ATF will not tolerate those who incite political violence in our communities.”