In a bold move on March 11, 2025, the Trump administration declared Tesla vandals as domestic terrorists, a designation that stunned environmental activists and civil liberties advocates alike. This decision came after a spate of coordinated attacks on Tesla dealerships, Supercharger stations, and even private Tesla vehicles, with perpetrators citing the company’s environmental footprint and Elon Musk’s unapologetic capitalism as their motivation. By invoking the domestic terrorism label, the administration unlocked a suite of legal tools under the Patriot Act, including the potential to detain suspects indefinitely and, most controversially, transfer them to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility (GITMO). President Trump, flanked by Musk at a Mar-a-Lago briefing, framed the vandals as “anarchists threatening American innovation,” vowing to protect Tesla as a symbol of national economic resurgence.
 

The implications of this policy shift are seismic, particularly the prospect of sending Tesla vandals to GITMO, a facility long associated with foreign terror suspects. Legal experts note that under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, domestic terrorism includes acts intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence government policy through destruction—criteria the administration argues fits the Tesla attacks. With GITMO still operational despite years of debate over its closure, the military prison could now house American citizens accused of spray-painting “Fossil Fuel King” on a Tesla Model S or torching a Supercharger. Supporters, including Musk, hailed the move as a necessary deterrent, pointing to over $50 million in damages since 2023; critics, however, decried it as authoritarian overreach, warning of a slippery slope where dissent against corporate giants could land citizens in offshore cages.
 

For the perpetrators—often young activists from groups like Earth First! or loosely organized anti-capitalist collectives—the stakes have never been higher. A 23-year-old arrested in Sacramento for slashing Tesla tires now faces not just a misdemeanor but a terrorism charge that could see him renditioned to GITMO without a civilian trial. The administration has already identified 17 “Tesla terror cells” across states like California, Oregon, and New York, with the FBI and DHS collaborating on sting operations. Public reaction is polarized: MAGA rallies chant “Lock ‘em up!” while protests outside Tesla HQ in Austin decry “corporate fascism.” As of March 12, 2025, no vandals have been sent to GITMO yet, but the precedent is set—smashing a Tesla windshield could now mean a one-way ticket to a cell overlooking the Caribbean, redefining the cost of eco-activism in Trump’s America.