Amid a wave of violence against Tesla vehicles, showrooms and charging stations, Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk labeled the attacks as “wide-scale domestic terrorism” and demanded authorities “go after the generals” behind the violence.
Reports of Tesla-related incidents have been increasing nationwide, ranging from minor vandalism, such as keying or graffiti, to more extreme cases like arson and drive-by shootings allegedly targeting Tesla vehicles.
Over the weekend, anti-Musk protesters saw one of their biggest shows of force as the decentralized movement known as Tesla Takedown planned a “Global Day of Action” targeting more than 500 Tesla locations worldwide.
“This is fundamentally a case of terrorism. It’s wide-scale domestic terrorism with the purpose of intimidation, and it’s harming innocent people. It’s really terrible,” Musk said Tuesday on “The Five.”
“What we actually have to get to are the people who are organizing and paying for these attacks and protests. That’s who we really need to go after, because the people that were actually throwing the Molotov cocktails — they’re the foot soldiers, but we need to go after the generals.”
“The president has made it very clear that we’re going to go after those that are paying and organizing these violent attacks, and Attorney General Bondi has said the same thing. I believe that that is exactly what will happen,” Musk said, adding the administration knows who these “generals” are.
In response to the nationwide violence, the FBI launched a task force to investigate attacks on Tesla owners. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the incidents are being treated as “domestic terrorism.”
The Tesla chief executive rebuked the “incredible hypocrites” within the legacy media and Democratic Party, arguing that the rhetoric of DOGE critics has fueled anger against Tesla and its supporters.
“I find it ironic and incredibly hypocritical that the same Democrat politicians who would want to throw someone in prison for 20 years simply for watching things at January 6, but not actually doing any violence, you don’t hear a single word from them about the actual violence happening against Tesla,” he said.
Musk also discussed his concerns about the Democratic agenda at the state level as voters head to the ballot to determine the fate of the key battleground state’s Supreme Court.
Wisconsin voters marched to the polls on Tuesday to decide if conservatives or liberals will control the majority on the state’s Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on crucial issues including congressional redistricting, voting and labor rights, and abortion.
With a massive infusion of money from Democrat and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin — which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation’s history — the contest has turned into a referendum on Trump’s sweeping moves in his first 100 days.
Musk, who has found himself front-and-center in the electoral showdown, warned the outcome could threaten the Republican Party’s razor-thin majority in the House and in turn wreak havoc on the Trump agenda.
“All the president is trying to do is implement the will of the people, and they are trying to stop the will of the people through judicial trickery,” Musk said, outlining the potential ripple effect of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election.
The judiciary has been hard at work within the checks-and-balances system, with many district judges and state courts blocking moves from the Trump administration. Some critics, like Musk, have labeled these judicators as “activist” judges.
“There is a huge problem with activists that are actually politicians in judges’ robes, and that needs to stop,” Musk said. “These fake judges should be ashamed of themselves. They are just pretending to be judges, but they are not. They’re making the law instead of implementing the law.”
