A 19-year-old University of Massachusetts student, Owen McIntire, may spend decades behind bars after allegedly firebombing a Tesla dealership in Kansas City on March 17.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, McIntire is facing federal charges, including unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and malicious damage by fire to property involved in interstate commerce.
Investigators say McIntire used a Molotov cocktail to ignite two Tesla Cybertrucks—each worth over $100,000—and damaged two charging stations. A police officer spotted smoke at the scene and found a charred rag nearby, believed to be part of the incendiary device. Though efforts were made to contain the blaze, firefighters were eventually called in to extinguish it.
Witness accounts and surveillance footage reportedly linked McIntire to the crime. He was later seen at Kansas City International Airport, and law enforcement used cell phone data, social media activity, and flight records to trace him to Boston, where he was arrested.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a warning following the arrest: “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.”
McIntire’s case comes amid a rise in attacks targeting Tesla properties, including a recent arson incident in New Mexico.
