A Nevada man is facing state and federal arson charges after the police say he spray-painted the word “resist” on the doors of a Tesla repair center and set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas last week.
The police said that early on March 18, the man, Paul Hyon Kim, 36, of Las Vegas, shot at surveillance cameras and used a firearm and Molotov cocktails to damage five Tesla vehicles, engulfing at least two in flames.
The torching, which occurred about 2:45 a.m., was among a number of acts of vandalism and arson against Tesla property in recent weeks, as the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, has led President Trump’s push to drastically shrink the size of the federal government and fire thousands of federal workers.
Tesla charging stations have also been set on fire outside Boston. And in Colorado, federal prosecutors have accused a man of spray-painting the word “Nazi” on a Tesla dealership and of planting an incendiary device there.
Last week, Mr. Musk described the attack on the Tesla repair center in Las Vegas as “terrorism,” echoing Attorney General Pam Bondi’s calling the destruction of Tesla property “nothing short of domestic terrorism.” She has promised “severe consequences” for anyone who targets the company.
Mr. Kim, who was arrested on Wednesday, faces 15 state charges in Clark County Justice Court, including three counts of arson, four counts of destroying property worth more than $5,000 and three counts of unlawful possession of an incendiary device.
He was also charged separately in federal court with one count of arson and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.
It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Las Vegas office, said at a news conference on Thursday that the arrest should send a message. “There’s nothing courageous or noble about firebombing private property and terrorizing your local community,” Mr. Evans said.
President Trump has suggested that those convicted of damaging or destroying Tesla vehicles — including U.S. citizens — could be sent to prisons in El Salvador.
The Las Vegas police said that investigators had linked Mr. Kim to the arson through surveillance video of the Hyundai that he drove to and from the Tesla repair center. After he was arrested, a DNA sample taken from his cheek matched DNA retrieved from the crime scene, the police said.
The police said they had also searched Mr. Kim’s apartment and had found several rifles, a shotgun and a handgun, as well as ammunition of the same caliber that was fired at the Tesla vehicles. Investigators also seized a gun belt and a backpack with pink paint residue, linking him to the spray paint used at the crime scene, the police said.
Investigators believe that Mr. Kim acted alone, the police said.
An intelligence bulletin from the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security dated March 21 and obtained by The New York Times said recent attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities “appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night, making identification and arrest of the actors difficult.”
The bulletin encouraged law enforcement agencies to aggressively pursue those who have defaced or destroyed Tesla property.
But the bulletin also said that law enforcement agents should not investigate “constitutionally protected activity” directed at Mr. Musk. The warning came as Tesla dealerships have drawn protests in recent weeks. Some Tesla owners have also sold their vehicles to distance themselves from the polarizing billionaire.
