An alleged ‘Communist’ has been arrested in Las Vegas for setting several Tesla cars on fire using Molotov cocktails before firing rounds into the burning vehicles on March 18.
Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was charged on Wednesday with 15 offenses, including arson and destroying or injuring personal property valued at $5,000 or more, police told a press conference the following day.
Las Vegas Metro Police also said Kim’s social media indicated that he was a ‘potential Communist’ with ‘pro Palestine affiliations’, according to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin.
Dramatic video footage captured the moment a row of Tesla cars exploded into flames at a dealership on 6260 West Badura Avenue near Jones Boulevard and Warm Springs Road.
Police said the suspect, who was seen at the scene in all black, managed to completely burn out two of the cars while damaging three others.
Video shows large sparks flying from the hood of one of the vehicles, as strong flames and thick black smoke consume the vehicles.
Officers in Sin City also said that the word ‘resist’ had been painted on the door of the facility, with three gunshots also fired into the vehicles.
Kim will be taken into federal custody later on Thursday, according to FBI special agent Spencer Evans.
An alleged ‘Communist’ man has been arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly setting several Tesla vehicles on fire using Molotov cocktails on Wednesday
Paul Kim, 36, has been charged with 15 offenses, including arson and destroying or injuring personal property valued at $5,000 or more, police told a press conference
‘There’s nothing courageous about firebombing and terrorizing your local community,’ Evans said. ‘At the end of the day, you and you alone, will face the prison sentence.’
‘This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,’ Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren added at the press conference on Thursday. ‘We do believe that it is isolated at this time.’
Police said Kim arrived close to the scene in a black Hyundai Elantra, before getting out on foot and approaching the Tesla building.
He allegedly used gloves and black clothing to conceal his identity, before damaging surveillance cameras with a rifle.
The suspect was also caught writing ‘RESIST’ on the front of the building from indoor cameras.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to footage of the blaze at the time, sharing it on X with the caption: ‘This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong.’
‘Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks’, he added, while describing it as ‘terrorism’ in another post.
The attack was the latest in a series of strikes against Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations across the nation.
In mid-March, the FBI in Kansas City said agents were investigating an incident which unfolded at a Tesla dealership in the city, alongside the ATF.
In a statement, they said: ‘The FBI and ATF are working with the Kansas City, MO Police Department to investigate an overnight incident in which Cyber Trucks at a Tesla Dealership in south Kansas City were damaged.
‘Similar incidents have occurred in several states and the FBI and ATF are coordinating with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to gather information.’
Paul Kim, 36, has been charged with 15 offenses, including arson and destroying or injuring personal property valued at $5,000 or more, police told a press conference
Protests have also been staged at dealerships in direct response to Musk’s involvement with President Trump and his running of DOGE.
Last weekend, roughly 250 activists gathered outside a showroom in New York City, holding anti-Musk placards.
Some of them read ‘Block Facism Now and ‘Musk Must Go’ as they shouted ‘Elon Musk is not elected! Democracy must be protected!’
Five protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct at the demonstration and one was taken into custody for resisting arrest, obstruction and violation of local law.
There have also been more than a dozen acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations since Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to police and local reports.
In Oregon, a showroom was even shot up with an AR-15 style-rifle in February.
Suspected vandal Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, is also accused of causing major damage at the same store with Molotov cocktails in January.
The protests against Musk and Tesla have ramped up since the billionaire and DOGE began firing thousands of federal workers, including veterans, as it pushes to downsize the government.
The word ‘resist’ had also been painted on the door of the facility in Las Vegas
Those who have been affected by the cuts have said they can no longer afford necessities, travel and health care.
Many also said they are no longer pumping into local economies by going out to dinner.
Musk’s political postures also appear to be coming at a price for Tesla, whose sales in Europe tumbled 45 percent in January from a year earlier – while its rivals’ sales rose by over 37 percent.
Tesla’s market capitalization has dropped 45 percent since hitting an all-time high of $1.5trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after Musk helped finance Trump’s election victory.
In an effort to turn that around, Trump showcased the electric vehicles from the White House last week – and even purchased one of his own.
Speaking alongside his ‘First Buddy’ at a press conference, Trump also said anyone enacting violence against Teslas and the dealerships would be labeled ‘domestic terrorists’.
