Authorities investigate arson at Mo. Cybertruck dealership

By Kendrick Calfee
The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Police Department is investigating a possible arson case at a Tesla dealership Monday night.

An officer was in the area of a Tesla dealership on State Line Road just before midnight when he saw smoke coming from a Cybertruck, according to a KCPD incident report.

The fire spread to a second Cybertruck before firefighters arrived, said Michael Hopkins, a fire department spokesman.

Bomb and arson investigators at KCPD are working to determine the cause of the fire. In the incident report, police said the fire may have been set intentionally.

Officers with KCPD and fire department officials were still at the dealership late Wednesday morning. Among the polished electric cars ready for sale, the two scorched Cybertrucks sat covered with tarps secured down with harnesses and spare tires.

Broken glass with holes that appeared bullet-sized could be seen hanging down past the tarps.

Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) were seen in the dealership parking lot and canvassing the area Wednesday. Some ATF officials were seen going to homes across the street from the dealership.

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In a statement Wednesday, ATF said they are working with Kansas City law enforcement officials including the FBI to investigate the fire. The agency called the fire “suspicious in nature.”

“It is too early in the investigation to comment further at this time,” ATF said in the statement. “When additional information is available, it will be released.”

Tesla has been a target of demonstrations and vandalism since the company’s CEO Elon Musk began leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Gunshots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon last week and two people have been charged in connection to a string of vandalism at a Colorado Tesla dealership, the Associated Press reported.

Four Cybertrucks caught fire at a Seattle storage space for Tesla vehicles.

Investigators have not yet said if the fires were intentionally set.

Employees at the Tesla dealership on State Line Road told The Star Wednesday that they were not able to comment on the incident.

The Star has reached out to Tesla’s corporate press contact and has not yet heard back.

Anyone who observes anything suspicious or has information about potential threats are urged to report it to local law enforcement, ATF said in a statement.

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