Police in Novato are asking the public to help identify a suspect caught on video significantly damaging a Tesla Cybertruck early Saturday.
Surveillance video shared by the Novato Police Department shows a suspect dressed in black pants and a black hoodie appearing to case a residence around 4:20 a.m. with a black Tesla Cybertruck parked in a private driveway of the home. The suspect covered their face with a face mask.
Over an hour later at 5:40 a.m., the suspect returned to the residence carrying a concrete rock. The suspect then placed a piece of duct tape over one of the security cameras, according to police.
The suspect apparently slashed all four tires of the Tesla Cybertruck. Video also shows the suspect hurling the concrete rock at the windshield multiple times.
The person also left a piece of yellow duct tape on the car with a handwritten note advising that the tires had been damaged. The damage to the car amounts to felony vandalism, police said.
The case follows a recent event in which another Tesla Cybertruck was vandalized in a Novato shopping center on March 22.
“We are aware of another recent incident in Novato targeting Tesla vehicles and want to reassure our community that we are fully committed to investigating these acts,” the department said in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
Vandalism against Tesla vehicles has escalated nationwide since January when the new Department of Government Efficiency, formed by President Donald Trump via executive order, began cutting federal jobs and slashing spending the department deemed wasteful.
Backlash against the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been aimed at Tesla owner Elon Musk who was chosen by Trump to head the department.
The Novato Police Department is asking residents who live in the areas of Jackson Drive, Garner Drive, Washington Street, Truman Drive, and Brown Drive to review their security cameras for any suspicious activity between 4-6 a.m. Saturday morning.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact police via email or phone (415) 897-4361 with the case number #NP25-804.
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