A student could spend “decades behind bars” after allegedly firebombing a Tesla dealership in Missouri.
Authorities say Owen McIntire set fire to two Tesla Cybertrucks, each valued at over $100,000, and damaged two charging stations worth $550 apiece. The incident occurred around 11:16 p.m. on March 17 in Kansas City, according to the Department of Justice.
McIntire, 19, a student at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, appeared in federal court Friday. He faces charges of unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device and maliciously damaging by fire property used in interstate commerce.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
Prosecutors allege that McIntire used a Molotov cocktail to start the fire. A nearby Kansas City police officer noticed smoke rising from a Cybertruck in the dealership’s parking lot. The officer also found a burnt rag next to the Molotov cocktail, according to an affidavit.
Although the officer tried to put out the fire, a second vehicle also caught fire before firefighters arrived and extinguished the blaze.
At the time, McIntire was reportedly home for spring break. Three witnesses gave descriptions matching his clothing that night, according to the affidavit.
“The individual was wearing dark flowy clothing and a large, white-colored hat and carrying a light-colored bag,” the affidavit noted. A witness later found the hat in their backyard the next day.
Another witness posted a video of the fire on X and claimed they saw McIntire running from the scene.
Surveillance footage later captured McIntire at Kansas City International Airport following the incident. Investigators used his social media activity, cell phone data, and flight records to link him to the crime. He was arrested after returning to school in Boston.
Attorney General Bondi said the incident is part of a broader “wave of domestic terrorism” targeting Tesla vehicles. The attacks have intensified since Elon Musk assumed a leading role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Last week, the DOJ charged another man with setting fire to a Tesla dealership in New Mexico and the state Republican Party headquarters. Jamison R. Wagner, 40, now faces federal arson charges after allegedly setting two Tesla Model Y vehicles ablaze and leaving graffiti messages like “Die Elon” and “Die Tesla Nazi,” according to the Associated Press reports.
The Justice Department has also charged four other individuals in separate cases involving Molotov cocktails used to destroy Tesla vehicles and fire stations.
