(Credit: JEFF KOWALSKY / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump is threatening 20 years in prison for anyone who vandalizes a Tesla, potentially in a harsh El Salvador facility.
"I look forward to watching the sick, terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!"
The El Salvador prison where Trump sent 238 Venezuelans, claiming without providing evidence that they are affiliated with gangs, is known for cruel treatment, overcrowding, and inadequate food, according to The Guardian. It's called the "Terrorist Confinement Center." Trump has labelled Tesla vandals domestic terrorists, kicking off a crackdown with the support of US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the funders. WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!" Trump said in a second Truth Social post yesterday.
The protests are mostly in the US and Europe, where Tesla's sales are tanking as Musk alienates buyers with his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). People are burning cars and Superchargers and protesting at showrooms. Fearful Tesla drivers are asking Tesla to implement new tech features in the vehicle to scare off protesters, Fortune reports. Musk proposed the car could "honk at people" in response to one driver whose car was keyed.
Trump also came to Musk's defense in a third post yesterday, in which he denied a New York Times report that the Pentagon is briefing Musk on a potential war with China. This would be a significant expansion of Musk's role in the government and a potential conflict of interest. The White House has also installed SpaceX’s Starlink internet in some areas of the property; Musk is CEO of SpaceX.
Longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber called for Musk to step down as Tesla CEO in an interview this week with SkyNews. "It's time for somebody to run Tesla, the business has been neglected for too long," says the wealth manager. "Either Elon should come back to Tesla and be the CEO of Tesla, or he should focus on the government and keep doing what he's doing, but find a suitable CEO for Tesla."
Musk admitted in an interview with Fox Business this month that he is having "great difficulty" running his businesses alongside his government work. He has kept Tesla under his control, though he appointed CEOs at his other companies, such as Linda Yaccarino for X (after he polled X users and they told him to step down) and Steve Davis for The Boring Company. Musk may have to speak to this at Tesla’s Q1 earnings call next month.