'Exploding right now': Witnesses report Tesla fire in 911 calls

Akiya Dillon, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 7, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — Witnesses reported exploding vehicles, gunshots and a suspect fleeing from a Las Vegas Tesla service center to a nearby getaway car, according to a series of recently released 911 calls.

“There is a person that’s setting off cars, exploding them. It’s literally in flames, and I think he might be armed, because he’s firing shots,” one of the first callers, a neighbor, told a dispatcher on March 18.

Early that morning, multiple Teslas were reported vandalized in the parking lot of a Tesla service center at 6260 Badura Ave., near South Jones Boulevard and the 215 Beltway. Authorities later told reporters that someone shot a gun inside vehicles and lit them on fire with Molotov cocktails.

“They’re exploding right now,” the caller said in a recording released by the Metropolitan Police Department. “This guy must have hated Tesla or something.”

The caller added that afterward, the person ran down the street toward Jones, wearing a black hoodie and a backpack.

Half a dozen people, most of whom said they lived at nearby residences, called to report the fires.

One woman said that when she first saw a person in the lot, she thought they were a worker trying to extinguish the flames. When he fled, she told the dispatcher, she knew something was wrong.

She also said that, about 10 minutes after she heard shots fired at the Tesla property, footage from her home security camera captured the suspect leaving in a car parked down the street.

“I did see a guy get in the car shortly after hearing all of this. He left already,” the caller said. “I did see they were taking clothes off as they were getting into the car.”

The part of the audio where the caller gave additional vehicle descriptions was redacted.

Like other callers, she said she could not tell the person’s gender or race.

Paul Hyon Kim, 36, arrested a week later, faces federal and local charges, including arson, possession of an unregistered gun, and possessing, manufacturing, or disposing of an explosive or fire device.

Authorities have said surveillance footage shows Kim shooting a gun at security cameras and inside multiple Teslas, and setting three vehicles on fire using the Molotov cocktails. Someone also spray-painted “Resist” across the facility, according to the footage.

In recent weeks, protesters around the country have targeted Teslas because Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, serves as a special adviser to President Donald Trump and heads the Department of Government Efficiency, which has sought to shrink the federal government.

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