Multiple incendiary devices were discovered inside a Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas on Monday morning, police have stated. The disturbing incident follows a series of vandalism and arson cases linked to Tesla facilities and vehicles, which have since prompted federal and local investigations.

Devices Found After Anonymous Tip

Austin Police Department officers responded to the Tesla showroom following an anonymous call about alleged bombs inside the building. Upon arrival at the location, authorities found several “suspicious devices,” which were later identified as incendiary by the Austin Police Department Bomb Squad. 

The bomb squad was able to remove the incendiary devices without incident. Citing the police department, the Daily Mail has noted that the devices were designed to cause “large-scale explosive violence.” No arrests have been made in relation to the incident as of writing, though an investigation is ongoing.

The Austin PD’s Statement

A release from the Austin Police Department’s Public Information Office described the details of the incident:

“On Monday, March 24, 2025, at approximately 8:04 a.m., Austin Police Department (APD) officers responded to a Found/Abandoned Hazardous call at the Tesla dealership located at 12845 N. US 183 Hwy SVRD NB. When officers arrived on scene, they located suspicious devices, and called the APD Bomb Squad to investigate. The devices, which were determined to be incendiary, were taken into police custody without incident. This is an open and ongoing investigation, and there is no further information available for release at this time,” the Austin PD wrote.

Attacks Linked to Musk’s Government Role

The apparent Tesla Austin attempted bombing comes amid escalating violence against Tesla properties, which seemed to be attributed in no small part to Elon Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative slashing federal spending. Musk, during a conversation with Sean Hannity of FOX News, claimed that the aggressive attacks stem from his efforts to curb waste.

“It turns out when you take away people’s, you know, the money that they’re receiving fraudulently, they get very upset. And they basically want kill me because I’m stopping their fraud and they want to hurt Tesla because we’re stopping the terrible waste and corruption in the government. And, well, I guess they’re bad people. Bad people do bad things,” Musk noted.

Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed its price target of $404 for Tesla after a visit to Gigafactory Texas. The investment firm sees an optimistic future for Tesla in the long term despite near-term headwinds.

Canaccord analysts reiterated its “Buy” rating for TSLA stock and revised Tesla’s Q1 2025 delivery estimates from ~331,000 vehicles to ~362,000 units. The firm’s first-quarter delivery estimates for Tesla reveal its optimistic take on the company’s future, even though it is still below the consensus estimate of ~417,000 vehicles.

“Our estimate is informed by our opinion that some consumers are delaying vehicle purchases to access the new Model Y and 4Q24 earnings call commentary regarding Model Y-related factory retooling limiting production…We wonder whether purchase decision delays and production limitations are being misinterpreted as halted overall momentum for Tesla. While we do suspect there has been some macroeconomic/brand impact, we, again, do estimate 1Q25 deliveries are mostly being impacted by supply constraints–as well as some demand factors,” Canaccord Genuity noted.

Canaccord analysts recently visited Tesla Giga Texas and left with optimism for the American electric vehicle (EV) maker.

“It’s hard not to be impressed with how future-forward Tesla is–whether it’s vehicle design or manufacturing. Consistently rethinking the status quo,” Canaccord Genuity analysts commented.

Analysts highlighted Tesla’s progress with Full Self-Driving, specifically version 13.2.8. They noted that Tesla’s unboxed manufacturing strategy would boost production efficiencies. Canaccord Genuity analysts also mentioned that Tesla’s robotaxi services will launch in Austin in the summer.

“For investors with duration and grit, there is a silver-linings playbook,” the Canaccord Genuity analysts concluded.

Canaccord Genuity reflects Elon Musk’s recent stock market advice during the Tesla All-Hands keynote. Musk advised investors to invest in companies with products they love, highlighting that Tesla has a few great products and will continue to launch more.

“Tesla stock goes up and goes down, but actually, it’s still the same company,” Musk noted.

A man in Florida has been charged with assault after attempting to drive into protestors outside of a Tesla store over the weekend, coming as the latest in ongoing protests and vandalism against CEO Elon Musk.

On Saturday, 44-year-old Andrew Tutil attempted to drive into protestors with his Nissan Pathfinder at the West Palm Beach Tesla store, although no one was injured, according to a report from Palm Beach Daily News. The store had around 150 protestors outside around 1:00 p.m., and Tutil reportedly drove slowly into the crowd before parking on the sidewalk and getting out.

“He drove into a crowd of senior citizens,” said Mark Offerman. “Everybody was able to move out, but two older women were really almost clipped. We immediately called the cops.”

After parking on the sidewalk where protestors had to jump out of the way, Tutil, a retired U.S. Army Captain, civil engineer, and supporter of Donald Trump, claimed that he was an employee of the Tesla store and that his brakes and electronics had malfunctioned, according to Offerman.

Palm Beach County records show that Tutil was later arrested and charged with first-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent after police questioned Tutil and surrounding witnesses and reviewed photos and video footage.

The news comes as a wave of protests, acts of vandalism, and some violent encounters such as this one have been increasingly targeting Tesla stores in recent weeks against Musk and the Trump administration. Additionally, Musk’s work with Trump’s newly created “government efficiency” division has been a central theme in protests at Tesla stores, as federal workers have expressed criticism for the administration’s approach to “eliminating fraud and waste.”

🚨 President Trump on Tesla protests and vandalism:

pic.twitter.com/xZIU3Mr2VX

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 11, 2025

READ MORE ON TESLA PROTESTS: I went to an anti-Musk protest at a Tesla store in Colorado—here’s what I experienced

The widespread protests began in January, after Musk performed what many said looked like a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration ceremony, and after he spoke at a campaign event for the far-right German party Alternative for Germany (AfD). During the rally, Musk said that there was “too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that,” which many claimed was in reference to Nazi Germany.

The so-called “Tesla Takedown” movement launched over the past several weeks is targeting around 500 separate protests across 277 stores around the U.S. The Palm Beach protest on Saturday was just one of a handful in Florida alone, including those in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Merrit Island, and Sarasota, to name a few.

One protestor at a Tesla store in Colorado earlier this month told Teslarati that she was protesting Musk because she was “highly concerned that our Constitution is being ignored,” adding that “it’s dangerous to have power rest in a handful of ultra-wealthy people.”

Others at the event highlighted Musk and Trump’s attacks on queer, trans, and non-binary people, as well as the administration’s recent controversies with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and claims that the President is aligning with Russia President Vladimir Putin, as a few of the major reasons they were protesting at the Loveland Tesla store.

Musk has mostly deflected and made light of claims of his alignment with Nazis, while the public has been polarized on defending or condemning these and other actions.

The Tesla CEO was defended by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was being “falsely smeared” immediately following the inauguration event. While the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also went on to defend the action as an “awkward gesture,” the group has since condemned some of Musk’s more recent posts making light of genocide.

Earlier this month, Musk reposted then deleted a screenshot shared by X user Rothmus claiming that “Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people,” but that “their public sector workers did.”

“It is deeply disturbing and irresponsible for someone with a large public platform to elevate the kind of rhetoric that serves to undermine the seriousness of these issues,” the ADL wrote in a response on X.

Credit: Rothmus/Alice Smith (via Elon Musk repost on X)

In addition to what have largely appeared to be peaceful protests at Tesla stores, a number of acts of vandalism, including graffiti, arson, and some even more violent assaults involving weapons, have been targeting the automaker’s locations around the world.

Multiple people were taken into custody following repeated arson and graffiti at a Tesla store in Colorado within the past few weeks, while multiple Tesla vehicles have been set on fire at stores, and one Tesla store has been shot at. Owners of Tesla’s vehicles have also been targeted in public, with some being captured on Sentry Mode keying or tagging the vehicles.

The Trump administration has also started labeling such attacks against Tesla as “domestic terrorism,” and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has started investigating several of the events, including one involving two Cybertrucks that were set on fire in Seattle and another at a store in Oregon that was shot at twice in a few weeks.

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