Trump says he will label violence against Tesla as domestic terrorism

President Donald Trump said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism, per a transcript shared by the White House pool reporters, a sign of deepening ties with Elon Musk.

“Tesla Takeovers” have been breaking out across the globe at Tesla dealerships as people protest what they see as a hostile takeover of the federal government by Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Some of the protests have resulted in graffiti on Tesla signs, charging stations set on fire, even Molotov cocktails being thrown in one dealership’s lot.

The protests and vandalism come as Tesla’s stock price has taken a hit, falling below where it skyrocketed after Trump won the presidential election in November 2024 and performing worse than the overall stock market during the same period. Tesla has also seen sales nosedive globally as the brand suffers from Musk’s political exploits.

“I’m going to stop them,” Trump said of people who commit violence against Tesla property. He spoke with Musk on Tuesday at the White House. “We catch anybody doing this because they’re harming a great American company.”

“And let me tell you,” Trump continued. “You do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you, and you’re going to go through hell.”

According to federal law, an attack on company property could be considered domestic terrorism if the intent is to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence government property, or affect government conduct through destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.

As the Tesla protests evolved over the last few weeks, the effort has coalesced into what’s now known as “#TeslaTakedown,” which describes itself as a decentralized grassroots movement.

Organizers for the movement said in a statement to TechCrunch that the “right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of American democracy.”

“By singling out his biggest donor’s business as somehow outside of that democracy, Trump is yet again showing us who he is: a corrupt would-be king. Americans won’t stand for that,” they wrote. “We are a nonviolent grassroots protest movement. We oppose violence and destruction of property. Peaceful protest on public property is not domestic terrorism. They are trying to intimidate us. We will not let them succeed.”

The risk ahead lies in how Trump and Musk define violence — and whether peaceful protesters will be labeled as violent in the future. Trump has promised to deport international students who join in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, which raises the threat that people who have green cards or visas in the U.S. could be under the same threat for protesting Tesla.

Since Trump issued an executive order in January to form DOGE, an advisory committee to slash government spending, Musk — who donated $260 million to a super PAC to elect Trump — has overseen widespread layoffs of government workers and the removal of entire agencies like USAID, fostering an environment of anger, fear, confusion, and chaos, according to some reports.

Musk has eyed other agencies for “deletion,” though his critics will point out that his companies have benefited directly from government contracts and incentives. SpaceX, for example, has received more than $20 billion in contracts from NASA, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies, according to data from USASpending.gov.

Trump said Tuesday he would buy a Tesla that he “wouldn’t be allowed” to drive, but that it would be used at the White House by his staffers.

“I think he’s been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people,” Trump said, per the Pool report. “And I just want people to know that he can’t be penalized for being a patriot.”

This story has been updated with a comment from the #TeslaTakedown organizers.