Police arrested a 40-year-old woman accused of spray painting a Tesla dealership with the words “Nazi cars” and throwing Molotov cocktails at vehicles on the property in the latest apparent protest against chief executive Elon Musk.
Officers from the Loveland Police Department in Colorado arrested Lucy Grace Nelson, who formerly identified as Justin Thomas Nelson, just before midnight on Monday, according to a press release.
She had returned to the local Tesla dealer with more explosive devices and vandalism materials, police said.
At least four cars worth a combined $220,000 had explosive devices thrown at them, which were made from empty liquor bottles, according to the arrest affidavit.
When Nelson was arrested, police officers said they found cans of spray paint, gasoline, empty bottles and pieces of cloth potentially soaked with accelerant in her car.
Police are investigating the possibility that another person was involved in the repeated vandalism, Padgett told The Post.
Officials are still investigating Nelson’s motive, Chris Padgett, the police department’s information officer, said. But he told The Post that protesting Tesla owner Musk is “a reasonable suspicion.”
The suspect was arrested on charges of explosive device use, criminal mischief and attempting to commit a felony.
Nelson was booked into jail with a $100,000 cash bond. She posted bond and was released from jail on Tuesday, according to Padgett.
Officers said they are working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and federal charges are likely to follow.
The same Loveland-based Tesla dealership had been vandalized and explosive devices had been found on the scene three separate times starting in January before officers made the arrest, according to the police department.
More information on the specific explosive devices will come from federal authorities later on, Padgett said.
Cars at the dealer and the building itself were covered in graffiti that was “very offensive” and “derogatory in nature,” Padgett told Fox News.
Several Tesla showrooms across the country have been subject to protests, and some Tesla car owners have reported their vehicles being vandalized.
A movement called #TeslaTakedown, which has its own website, urges shareholders to dump their Tesla shares and for carowners to sell their vehicles.
The website’s organizer, “Bill & Ted” actor Alex Winter, said in a Rolling Stone op-ed that there have been demonstrations at more than 100 Tesla dealerships.
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