Trump: Tesla Vandals, 'Funders' Could Get 20 Years

President Trump, who became a Tesla owner last week, warned against attacking the vehicles in a Truth Social post Thursday night. "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," Trump wrote, adding: "WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!" Earlier this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi said attacks on Tesla dealerships would be treated as "domestic terrorism."

• Musk says security has been stepped up. "Tesla has ramped up security and activated Sentry Mode on all vehicles at stores," Musk said in a post on X Thursday. A Tesla owners manual describes Sentry Mode, which keeps cameras and sensors on, "as an intelligent vehicle security system that alerts you when it detects possible threats nearby," CBS News reports.

• Defendants will face "full force of the law." Bondi said Thursday three people charged in recent attacks on Tesla properties in Colorado, Oregon, and South Carolina will face the "full force of the law," with charges carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison, ABC News reports. "Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars," Bondi said.
• Attack on Canada's largest showroom. In Hamilton, Ontario, outside Bondi's jurisdiction, more than 80 vehicles were damaged at Tesla's largest showroom in Canada. Police said they were investigating a "series of mischiefs" that caused damage including punctured tires and deep scratches to vehicles parked outside the dealership, the Hamilton Spectator reports.
• Canadian protests. Tesla vandalism has surged in Canada as well as the US, and protests outside numerous dealerships in the country have denounced Musk's ties to Trump, the New York Times reports. Organizers excluded Tesla from a recent auto show in Vancouver, citing concerns about protests and vandalism.
• Florida AG offers pay rises, promotions. ABC News reports that in a Fox News appearance Thursday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said police officers who protected Tesla would be rewarded. "If you are a law enforcement officer in Florida and you interfere with somebody and prevent them from hurting a Tesla—come find me and I'm gonna try to get you a pay raise and a promotion," he said.

(More Tesla stories.)