A federal grand jury indicted Ian William Moses, 35, on Wednesday for allegedly setting a new Cybertruck on fire outside a Tesla dealership located in Mesa. Mesa Police arrested him on his bike shortly after he was seen on video a little before 2 a.m. placing fire logs around the vehicle, pouring gasoline on them, then igniting the logs. He was charged with five counts of Malicious Damage to Property in Interstate Commerce.
“If you engage in domestic terrorism, this Department of Justice will find you, follow the facts, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in the DOJ’s press release. “No negotiating.”
“There is nothing American about burning down someone else’s business because you disagree with them politically,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “These ongoing attacks against Tesla are not protests, they are acts of violence that have no place in Arizona or anywhere else. If someone targets Tesla with violence, they will be found and confronted with the full force of the law.”
“I would like to recognize the outstanding efforts of the Superstition District Patrol officers who played a crucial role in this investigation. Their swift action in identifying and monitoring the suspicious van parked near the dealership was critical to the success of this operation. I am truly grateful for their diligent police work,” said Mesa Police Chief Ken Cost.
The DOJ’s press release included photos from the dealership’s and Tesla’s security cameras, which revealed his face. The word “theif” [sic] was spray painted in large writing on the building’s exterior. When officers arrested Moses about a quarter of a mile from the dealership, they found a hand-drawn map of the area in his pocket, including a box with the letter “T” marking the dealership’s location. He was getting into a van, and when officers searched the van, they found a backpack containing a mask, lighter, spray paint can, and red plastic gas container.
Each count carries a minimum of five years in prison, up to 20 years maximum, and a $250,000 fine. Mesa police worked with Mesa Fire and Medical Department investigators, Gilbert Fire and Rescue, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Attorneys for Moses requested that he be released before trial. A hearing took place on Friday to address the request. In the pleadings, his attorneys stated that he is a software engineer, has autism, and sees a therapist.
Arizona has seen its fair share of anger directed at Tesla, due to opposition to CEO Elon Musk working with President Donald Trump. In March, while driving a Tesla, a woman got cut off and boxed in by Robert Atherton, 33, who drove a Chevrolet Cavalier. After cutting off the woman, Atherton allegedly got out of his car and started hitting the woman while she was still inside her car.
Autherton was arrested and issued a criminal citation for disorderly conduct, assault, and aggressive driving. Both Atherton and the victim suffered minor injuries.
There have been protests against Tesla in the state, known as “TeslaTakeDowns.” Superstition Rising Indivisible organized a protest outside a Tesla dealership in Tempe in March. Some protesters carry signs comparing Musk to Hitler.
Teslas around the country have been vandalized. The man who set a Cybertruck on fire in Las Vegas in front of the Trump International Hotel was from Arizona and had stopped at charging stations in Kingman, Flagstaff, and Holbrook. Matthew Livelsberger, 37, shot himself in the head before blowing up the vehicle. The DOJ has charged seven individuals for Tesla-related vandalism, and according to Forbes there have been many more incidents.
Musk owns approximately 13 percent of the company. While Tesla’s stock value has been somewhat volatile since Trump took office, it remains fairly high at $287.21. It averaged $181.06 in 2023 and $123.18 in 2022. The Model Y was the best-selling car in the world in 2023, the first for an electric vehicle (EV). Tesla holds the largest EV market share in the U.S., at 43.4 percent. Tesla’s market share across all vehicle types in the U.S. is approximately 4 percent.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
