MSNBC host Alicia Menendez is facing criticism for downplaying a string of violent attacks on Tesla dealerships and owners, falsely characterizing them as mere “protests” during Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC Prime. Menendez’s comments come amid a surge in politically motivated attacks against Tesla following CEO Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in the Trump administration.
The controversy erupted as Menendez and her panelists discussed President Trump’s Tuesday meeting with Musk at the White House. The meeting was called in response to multiple acts of vandalism, arson, and targeted violence against Tesla dealerships and vehicle owners—incidents that have escalated since Musk joined the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
MSNBC justifies violence against Tesla as “a form of protest, NOT domestic terror” pic.twitter.com/WPtQvQejlh
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 12, 2025
Trump did not mince words when addressing the wave of violence. He condemned the attacks and made it clear that perpetrators would face severe consequences.
“Those people are going to go through a big problem when we catch them,” Trump told reporters. “We’ve got a lot of cameras up, we already know who some of them are. We’re going to catch them. And they’re bad guys. They’re the same guys that screw around with our schools and universities, the same garbage.”
Asked whether his administration would classify the ongoing attacks as domestic terrorism, Trump answered directly: “I will do that, I’ll do it. I’m going to stop them.”
Despite clear evidence that these acts go far beyond traditional protest—many involving arson, explosives, and gunfire—Menendez misrepresented Trump’s stance, accusing the administration of branding all protests against Tesla as terrorism.
CNN says that the protests at Tesla locations are “peaceful“. Apparently breaking into and vandalizing stores is peaceful. pic.twitter.com/I2zBUZJkOC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 11, 2025
“So just to be clear, you protest a private company, you are labeled by this administration a domestic terrorist,” Menendez claimed, deliberately ignoring Trump’s distinction between peaceful protest and violent criminal activity.
The reality of these attacks is stark. In Seattle, four Tesla vehicles were torched on Sunday night, with surrounding cars also vandalized—some marked with swastikas and anti-Musk slogans. In South Carolina, a Tesla charging station was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail, and the attacker left behind a message reading “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” in red paint. Similar acts of violence have been reported in Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon, prompting federal investigations.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is now leading inquiries into several of these attacks, underscoring the seriousness of the threats.
