Mesa man indicted for allegedly setting Cybertruck, Tesla building on fire
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The man accused of setting a Tesla Cybertruck on fire at a Mesa dealership has been officially charged.
Prosecutors say a federal grand jury indicted 35-year-old Ian William Moses for five counts of maliciously damaging property and vehicles in interstate commerce by means of fire. Despite calling it domestic terrorism on Tuesday, no domestic terrorism charges were part of the indictment.
Federal investigators say Moses showed up at the Tesla dealership in the area of Southern Avenue and Sossaman Road just before 2 a.m. on Monday wearing a black mask and carrying a plastic gas can and a backpack. While in the parking lot, he put fire starter logs next to the dealership building, police said.
Detectives said he then poured gasoline onto the starter logs, the building and three Tesla vehicles. He then reportedly lit them on fire, and the flames destroyed a silver Tesla Cybertruck. After the fire, Moses sped off on a bicycle.
The flames never spread to the truck’s battery or into the building. After the fire was put out, crews discovered a misspelling of the word “thief” spray-painted on the side of the building.
The suspect was found and arrested about a quarter-mile from the dealership at around 3 a.m., still dressed in the same clothes. Authorities said they found a hand-drawn map of the area in Moses’ pocket, including a box with the letter “T” for the Tesla dealership.
“There is nothing American about burning down someone else’s business because you disagree with them politically,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona said in a written statement. “These ongoing attacks against Tesla are not protests, they are acts of violence that have no place in Arizona or anywhere else. If someone targets Tesla with violence, they will be found and confronted with the full force of the law.”
If convicted, each count carries between five and 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
