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Arrest made after Tesla Salem site attacked with Molotov cocktails

The suspect faces a federal charge of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

A 41-year-old Salem man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store on January 20. Court documents indicated that the man’s attack caused around $500,000 in damages.

The suspect faces a federal charge of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device, which were described as Molotov cocktails. Seven vehicles were damaged and one was destroyed in the attack on the Tesla location.

Fires Erupt at Tesla Store

At 3:45 a.m. on January 20, Salem Police responded to reports of Molotov cocktails being thrown at the Tesla store. Officers found a fire on the sidewalk and another in a parked vehicle’s rear. An eyewitness noted that someone thew five or six objects during the incident, as noted in a report from the Statesman Journal.

Suspect Caught on Camera

Surveillance footage showed the man throwing a “Molotov Cocktail-style device” at a truck, which bounced off without igniting. He also aimed an AR-15-style rifle at a witness who was driving away. The suspect hurled a rock through the Salem Tesla store’s window as well. 

A patrol car’s camera captured the suspect’s vehicle nearby, tying him to the scene. Surveillance video, fingerprints on glass bottles recovered at the scene, and a vehicle registered to the man led ultimately to his arrest.

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Tesla Vandalism Trend

Tesla stores across the United States and abroad have been the target of vandalism incidents as of late, thanks in part to CEO Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in politics and his close work with U.S. President Donald Trump. Interestingly enough, previous reports have indicated that the Salem Tesla store was also the victim of an attack last month, when gunfire shattered widows at the location.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous

The CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving.

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Credit: Tesla/YouTube

Elon Musk is taking a firmer stance in the vision vs lidar debate for autonomous driving. In his more recent comments, the CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving. 

Musk is stating that using lidar actually makes self-driving cars more dangerous. 

Uber CEO’s comments

During a recent interview, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared his thoughts on the autonomy race. As per the CEO, he is still inclined to believe that Waymo’s approach, which requires outfitting cars with equipment such as lidar and radar, is necessary to achieve superhuman levels of safety for self-driving cars. 

“Solid state LiDAR is $500. Why not include lidar as well in order to achieve super human safety. All of our partners are using a combination of camera, radar and LiDAR, and I personally think that’s the right solution, but I could be proven wrong,” the Uber CEO noted.

Elon Musk’s rebuttal

In response to the Uber CEO’s comments, Elon Musk stated that lidar and radar, at least based on Tesla’s experience, actually reduce safety instead of improving it. As per the Tesla CEO, there are times when sensors such as lidar and radar disagree with cameras. This creates sensor ambiguity, which, in turn, creates more risk. Musk then noted that Tesla has seen an improvement in safety once the company focused on a vision only approach. 

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“Lidar and radar reduce safety due to sensor contention. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins? This sensor ambiguity causes increased, not decreased, risk. That’s why Waymos can’t drive on highways. We turned off the radars in Teslas to increase safety. Cameras ftw,’ Musk wrote.

Musk’s comments are quite notable as Tesla was able to launch a dedicated Robotaxi pilot in Austin and the Bay Area using its vision-based autonomous systems. The same is true for FSD, which is quickly becoming notably better than humans in driving. 

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Tesla Model Y L sold out for September 2025

This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

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Credit: Tesla China

It appears that the Tesla Model Y L has been sold out in China for September 2025. This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

Model Y L deliveries

Since the Model Y L’s official launch earlier this month, Tesla has been pretty consistent in the idea that the extended wheelbase variant of its best-selling vehicle will see its first deliveries sometime in September. This was quite an impressive timeframe for Tesla, considering that the Model Y L has only been launched this August. 

Nevertheless, both Tesla China’s Model Y configurator and comments from company executives have noted that the vehicle will see its first customer deliveries in September. “Tesla cars are fun to drive alone, whether you have children or how many children, this car can meet all your needs. We will deliver in September and wait for you to get in the car,” Tesla China VP Grace Tao wrote on Weibo.

Credit: Tesla China

October 2025 deliveries

A look at Tesla China’s order page as of writing shows that the earliest deliveries for the Model Y L, if ordered today, would be October 2025 instead. This suggests that the six-seat Model Y variant has effectively been sold out for September. This bodes well for the vehicle, and it suggests that it is a variant that may be able to raise Tesla’s sales numbers in China, as well as territories where the Model Y L could be exported.

Rumors of the Model Y L’s strong sales have been abounding. After the vehicle’s launch, industry watchers estimated that Tesla China has received over 35,000 orders for the Model Y L in just one day. Later estimates suggested that the Model Y L’s orders have breached the 50,000 mark.

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Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch

SpaceX said it is now targeting Monday evening for Starship’s 10th flight test.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX stood down from its planned Starship Flight 10 on Sunday evening, citing an issue with ground systems. 

The launch attempt was scheduled during a one-hour window that opened at 7:30 p.m. ET, but it was called off just 17 minutes before the window opened. SpaceX said it is now targeting Monday evening for Starship’s 10th flight test.

Flight 10 rescheduled

A lot of excitement was palpable during the lead up to Starship Flight 10’s first launch window. After the failures of Starship Flight 9, many were interested to see if SpaceX would be able to nail its mission objectives this time around. Starship itself seemed ready to fly, with the upper stage being loaded with propellant as scheduled. Later on, SpaceX also noted that Starship’s Super Heavy booster was also being loaded with propellant.

However, 17 before the launch window opened, SpaceX noted that it was “standing down from today’s tenth flight of Starship to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems.” Elon Musk, in a post on X, further clarified that a “ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed.” Musk did state that SpaceX will attempt Flight 10 again on Monday, August 25, 2025.

Starship and SpaceX’s development goals

The fully integrated Starship system is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, standing over 400 feet when stacked. Composed of the reusable Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage, the vehicle is central to SpaceX’s long-term ambitions of lunar and Martian missions. NASA has already selected Starship as the crewed lunar lander for Artemis, with its first astronaut landing mission tentatively set for 2027, as noted in a Space.com report.

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So far, Starship has flown nine times from Starbase in Texas, with three launches this year alone. Each flight has offered critical data, though all three 2025 missions encountered notable failures. Flight 7 and Flight 8 ended in explosions less than 10 minutes after launch, while Flight 9 broke apart during reentry. Despite setbacks, SpaceX has continued refining Starship’s hardware and operations with each attempt. Needless to say, a successful Flight 10 would be a significant win for the Starship program.

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