Police make arrest in fires at Las Vegas Tesla service center; suspect will be taken into federal custody

Akiya Dillon and Katie Futterman, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 27, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

LAS VEGAS — A man police said set multiple Tesla vehicles on fire using Molotov cocktails has been arrested, authorities said Thursday.

Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center a day earlier on a total of 15 counts, including suspicion of arson, destroying or injure real or personal property of another, value $5,000 or greater, possessing/disposing of a fire device, all felonies, and misdemeanor discharging a firearm into a vehicle.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon. He is also facing federal charges of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device) and arson, according to court records.

Kim would taken into federal custody Thursday, Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge at the FBI officer in Las Vegas, said at a press briefing.

Video footage provided by the Metropolitan Police Department showed that around 2:45 a.m. March 18, a person dressed in black damaged at least five Teslas in the parking lot of a Tesla service center at 6260 Badura Ave., near Jones Boulevard and the 215 Beltway. He then fled the scene, police said.

Kim shot a gun at security cameras and inside multiple Teslas, authorities said the footage showed. He set three vehicles on fire using the Molotov cocktails. The suspect also spraypainted “Resist” across the facility, according to the footage.

Hallmarks of terrorism

Kim had “very loose” ties to social media groups such as the Communist Party USA, Revolutionary Communist International, hidden Palestine and Palestine Action, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said. He said that would be part of law enforcement’s investigation into the motive.

Evans said that there was nothing courageous about the violence.

“The self righteous mob that’s cheering you on today to commit acts of violence on their behalf will leave you high and dry and forget about you tomorrow,” Evans said. “You and you alone will be held responsible and face the prospect of lengthy prison sentence.”

During a news conference last week, authorities said the damage had “some of the hallmarks” of terrorism.

“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” Koren said at the conference. “We do believe that it is isolated at this time.”

Still, he said, Metro was increasing its presence at Tesla-related locations in the valley as a precaution.

The Clark County Fire Department and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the investigation.

At the time, Evans stopped short of calling the attack an act of terrorism, though he said it had “some of the hallmarks” and a “potential political agenda.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement “regarding a spate of recent attacks on Tesla property.”

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Bondi said in the statement.

Solving the case

Sheriff Kevin McMahill said that at the start of the investigation, he was worried about solving it given the “very little information” law enforcement had.

Kim was arrested at what law enforcement believe to be his workplace.

Koren said the arrest was achieved through an “exhaustive review” of surveillance material, and that law enforcement canvassed 700 places around the valley.

He also said that hundreds of people were involved in solving the case, and he thanked community members who had offered cell phone video surveillance.

The federal complaint describes using cell tower data, DNA evidence and video surveillance to make the arrest.

Law enforcement surveilled Kim’s car travel, which they believed to be a black Hyundai Elantra, according to the complaint. Law enforcement used license plate reader data to connect the car to Kim, the complaint said.

On March 18, Kim filed an insurance claim that his vehicle’s tires had been slashed and that his car had been stolen, the complaint said. Metro and Henderson police did not show any reports that the vehicle had been stolen.

In a March 19 report, Metro identified gun rounds as 300 blackout or 30 caliber, but said it could not determine a specific firearm make or model.

On March 6, Kim acquired a lower receiver for an AR-style firearm from Accuracy Gun Shop, according to the complaint. It was compatible with the bullet fragments recovered on scene, according to the complaint.

___