Viral posts resurrect month-old Tesla vandalism incident in New Mexico

By Kevin Hendricks

As the Tesla Takedown gains steam, a viral post flooded local social media Tuesday night and early Wednesday showing the burnt husk of a Tesla sedan outside of the salesroom on Santa Ana Pueblo.

The only problem? The incident happened over a month ago, the Sandoval Signpost found out after digging into the story.

The FBI told the Signpost it has been aware of the incident since it happened last month. 

“I can confirm the FBI is working with our partners regarding this incident,” FBI Public Affairs Officer Margot Cravens said. “Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, I am not able to provide any additional details at this time.”

The photos that started the uproar were posted Feb. 10 online, then a Reddit user linked to the post on March 11. The Reddit thread had over 150 comments 20 hours after being posted. Other posts appeared on Instagram and Facebook with thousands of likes and shares.

Even KOB-TV reported on the incident Wednesday morning, with an anchor saying the Tesla salesroom was “just hit by vandals.” The TV station corrected its story.

The photos also showed a Cybertruck with a swastika spray-painted on it, and the building appeared to have recently covered up graffiti.

While the incident is over a month old, it gained new life on the internet as protests targeting Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, in response to his rising influence in President Donald Trump’s administration, become increasingly common across the country.

Protesters have organized demonstrations at Tesla salesrooms across America, urging Tesla owners to sell their vehicles. While there have been mainly peaceful protests, some have resulted in arrests and cars and charging stations being burned.

As vandals target Tesla vehicles and salesrooms in protest of Musk’s massive layoffs through the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump told White House reporters Tuesday that he will label violence against Tesla facilities as “domestic terrorism” because “they’re harming a great American company.” 

New Mexico state Sen. Jay Block, who recently introduced a bill that would create a state version of Musk’s DOGE office, echoed the president’s statement.

“I am sickened by the vandalism of these domestic political terrorists who destroyed private property against a man who is exposing over $100 billion in government fraud, waste and abuse,” Block said on Wednesday. “I hope they find these cowards and bring them to justice immediately.”

Another protest, organized by Sandoval County Indivisible and the Democratic Party of Sandoval County, is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Santa Ana Tesla salesroom. The organizations have held regular protests in recent weeks.

“The Democratic Party of Sandoval County denounces the incursions onto native land that resulted in the defacement and destruction of Indian property,” Alexandria Piland, chair of the Democratic Party of Sandoval County, said. “We do not have any information about the people who violated sovereign law and vandalized and destroyed Pueblo property. We do not condone crime. As for the swastika being painted on a car, it was wrong for many reasons. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a huge logical leap to make as Elon Musk expertly executed a Nazi salute publicly.” 

Calls seeking comment about the Tesla protests to Santa Ana tribal police were not returned.

The 35,000-square-foot Tesla salesroom opened on Santa Ana Pueblo in 2023. 

In New Mexico, car manufacturers are not allowed to sell directly to consumers. Tesla bypassed that prohibition by opening a sales and service center in Nambé Pueblo in 2021, the first Tesla facility on Native American land. The Santa Ana Pueblo salesroom followed.