Massachusetts local police confront continuing Tesla vandalism incidents

Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald on Apr 16, 2025

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Local police departments across Massachusetts are continuing to confront Tesla vandalism incidents, as a Weymouth man has been arrested for allegedly keying a Cybertruck at a Hingham charging station.

Brendan Mullen, 20, has been released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty to a charge of malicious destruction of property stemming from the incident that unfolded last Sunday evening.

This is just the latest incident in a trend of Tesla electric vehicles and even dealerships being targeted across the Bay State and nation, as company CEO Elon Musk continues to advise the Trump administration to slash federal waste across the government.

Hingham Police responded to a charging station in a town-owned parking lot Sunday evening after receiving reports of what the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office described as “intentional vandalism to a motor vehicle.”

“The owner of the vehicle — a 2024 Tesla Cybertruck — told officers a safety feature alerted him that someone had touched his vehicle and automatically recorded the incident,” the DA’s office stated in a release on Wednesday. “At about 7:30 p.m., the Cybertruck’s surveillance captured a person ‘keying’ the vehicle on the passenger side.”

Hingham Police identified Mullen as the man captured on the surveillance footage and requested that he come to the department to “discuss the incident.” He turned himself in on Tuesday.

“The Hingham Police will thoroughly investigate all cases where an individual’s property is intentionally damaged and seek charges when a suspect is identified,” spokesman Lt. Steven Dearth said in a statement on Wednesday.

Mullen’s arrest comes after Peabody Police most recently apprehended a Saugus man on 11 counts of defacing property and one count of disturbing the peace last week. The department accused him of pouring paint on “a number” of vehicles parked in the lot at the local Tesla dealership.

The FBI last month created a task force to coordinate investigative efforts around attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships with officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has suggested prosecutors will make no plea deals with those charged by the feds in the Tesla attacks, telling the president at the White House last week that “there will be no negotiations, at your directive.”

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