Kansas City, MO — A 19-year-old Kansas City native and college student studying in Boston was arrested and appeared in federal court Friday to face serious federal charges connected to a firebombing attack on a Tesla facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
Owen McIntire has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of malicious damage by fire to property used in interstate commerce, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri and unsealed this week.
Authorities allege that McIntire used Molotov cocktails to ignite a fire that damaged two Tesla Cybertrucks and nearby charging infrastructure on March 17, around 11:16 p.m., at the Kansas City Tesla Center.
An officer with the Kansas City Police Department (KCMOPD), who happened to be near the scene, spotted smoke billowing from a grey Cybertruck and an unbroken incendiary device on the ground. The fire quickly spread, engulfing a second Cybertruck and damaging two electric vehicle charging stations. The combined value of the destroyed trucks was more than $212,000, while each charging station was estimated at $550.
The Kansas City Fire Department responded promptly and extinguished the blaze. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) later confirmed that Molotov cocktails were used in the attack.
“This wasn’t vandalism — it was a violent criminal act,” said Dan Driscoll, Acting Director of the ATF. “Thanks to the relentless work of ATF special agents and our close coordination with the FBI and local law enforcement, we now have a suspect in custody.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi delivered a sharp warning: “Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You will spend decades behind bars.”
FBI Director Kash Patel echoed that stance, stating this is the second Tesla-related arson arrest in a week, calling it a “dangerous and illegal” act that the FBI will continue to pursue with urgency.
McIntire’s arrest was the result of a coordinated investigation between the FBI’s Kansas City and Boston Field Offices, ATF, and KCMOPD.
If convicted, McIntire faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Note: A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
