A 41-year-old Salem man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store on January 20. Court documents indicated that the man’s attack caused around $500,000 in damages.

The suspect faces a federal charge of illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device, which were described as Molotov cocktails. Seven vehicles were damaged and one was destroyed in the attack on the Tesla location.

Fires Erupt at Tesla Store

At 3:45 a.m. on January 20, Salem Police responded to reports of Molotov cocktails being thrown at the Tesla store. Officers found a fire on the sidewalk and another in a parked vehicle’s rear. An eyewitness noted that someone thew five or six objects during the incident, as noted in a report from the Statesman Journal.

Suspect Caught on Camera

Surveillance footage showed the man throwing a “Molotov Cocktail-style device” at a truck, which bounced off without igniting. He also aimed an AR-15-style rifle at a witness who was driving away. The suspect hurled a rock through the Salem Tesla store’s window as well. 

A patrol car’s camera captured the suspect’s vehicle nearby, tying him to the scene. Surveillance video, fingerprints on glass bottles recovered at the scene, and a vehicle registered to the man led ultimately to his arrest.

Tesla Vandalism Trend

Tesla stores across the United States and abroad have been the target of vandalism incidents as of late, thanks in part to CEO Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in politics and his close work with U.S. President Donald Trump. Interestingly enough, previous reports have indicated that the Salem Tesla store was also the victim of an attack last month, when gunfire shattered widows at the location.

The Tesla Model Y led South Korea’s imported car market in February 2025 with 2,038 units sold, as per data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA). 

Total imported passenger car registrations in South Korea climbed 24.4% to 21,199 units from 16,237 a year ago. Tesla ranked third at 2,222 units, behind BMW (6,274) and Mercedes-Benz (4,663).

Model Y Classic Still A Strong Seller

The Model Y that performed well in South Korea last month was the Model Y classic variant, which Tesla is already phasing out. Its strong sales highlight Tesla’s strong presence in South Korea, where BMW beat Mercedes-Benz for the top brand spot last month.

Following the Tesla Model Y classic in the country’s import segment was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series. Tesla’s overall 2,222 registrations for February trailed BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but they surpassed Lexus (1,337) and Volvo (1,046), as per a report from Viva100.

Import Fuel Mix

Hybrids led South Korea’s import registrations with 13,013 units (64.4%), followed by EVs at 3,757 (18.6%) and gasoline at 3,226 (16%). Diesel lagged at 203 units (1%). A look at these numbers suggests that the Tesla Model Y classic commanded the lion’s share of South Korea’s EV imports last month.

What the KAIDA Vice Chairman says

KAIDA Vice Chairman Jeong Yoon-yeong issued a comment about the results:

“In February, new registrations of imported passenger vehicles increased compared to the previous month due to the registration of electric vehicles following the confirmation of electric vehicle subsidies and the new car effect of some brands,” the KAIDA executive noted.

Hyundai Motor Co. is diving into the robotaxi business with Texas-based startup Avride. Hyundai and Avride’s autonomous ride-hailing service will roll out in Texas later this year.

The South Korean automaker and its new partner plan to develop driverless robotaxis based on the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 SUV. Last year, Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 passed a US driver’s license test. Hyundai’s robotaxi is a Level 4 autonomous vehicle certified by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

The legacy automaker will assemble IONIQ 5 robotaxi vehicles at its new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia. After assembly, the Hyundai robotaxis will be integrated with Avride’s autonomous driving technology.

“This new agreement with Hyundai Motor will help us scale our operations significantly, with plans to expand our fleet to up to 100 autonomous IONIQ 5’s in 2025, leveraging Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 and our autonomous driving technology,” Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride, said in a press release.

Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 robotaxis will roll out later this year in Dallas as part of Avride’s robotaxi service. Customers may catch a ride in one of the driverless Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles through the Uber app.

Texans will see quite a few autonomous robotaxis on the road this year. While Hyundai’s robotaxis hit the road in Dallas, Tesla will launch “unsupervised full self-driving as a paid service in Austin in June,” according to Elon Musk’s statement in the last TSLA earnings call.