A judge ordered a five-year prison sentence Wednesday for a man who used Molotov cocktails to set Teslas on fire last year in Las Vegas.

Paul Kim’s actions occurred amid a wave of public ire toward Tesla CEO Elon Musk, then-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Kim pleaded guilty in February to all charges in the indictment against him: two counts of arson, a count of attempted arson and a count connected to his possession of a Molotov cocktail.

He was arrested in March 2025 after vandalizing at least five Teslas in the early hours of March 18 at a Tesla service center at 6260 Badura Ave., near South Jones Boulevard and the 215 Beltway.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey said the sentence she ordered was recommended by federal probation officials.

Kim will be supervised for three years after his release from prison. He owes $227,525 in restitution. He is required to stay away from Tesla facilities and undergo mental health treatment.

“The crimes here were violent and dangerous,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey decided against applying a terrorism enhancement to Kim, which she said probation authorities also had rejected.

There was some evidence Kim had intended to target the government, but the crime occurred at a private facility, and Musk was a controversial figure in both his governmental and non-government roles, she said.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

John Paglini, a psychologist, wrote in a report filed by Kim’s lawyers that the defendant said he did not vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris but became concerned about the state of the nation, especially after an incident in which Musk made a hand gesture some interpreted as a Nazi salute.

“When asked what escalated him to the point where eventually he engaged in his criminal acts, he reported it was when Mr. Musk gave the Nazi salute,” the doctor wrote. “He perceived the country moving towards a fascist ideology. He felt he had to do something to make others aware of this danger.”

Kim apologized in court.

“At the time, I felt like I was doing the right thing, but it doesn’t justify my actions,” he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cowhig argued in a sentencing memorandum for 20 years in prison. He asked in court for the terrorism enhancement to be applied to Kim, saying the crimes appeared to be politically motivated and in response to Musk’s government role.

He noted that Kim had spray-painted the word “RESIST” across a door at the Tesla facility, an apparent call to action.

“Defendant Kim’s convictions show a considered and deliberate disregard for societal norms of behavior to serve his political ends,” Cowhig wrote. “A significant punitive sentence, consistent with the guidelines, is needed to both deter defendant Kim from future criminal conduct and to deter others from pursuing a similar path.”

Defense attorney Michael Becker said government facilities were not targeted as a result of attacks on private Tesla facilities. He argued that Musk was not really a government employee, citing a media report that described him as an external adviser.

“What (Kim) did was not, under the statute Congress wrote, a federal crime of terrorism,” defense lawyers wrote in a filing. “His targets were private cars owned by private people; he made no demand of any government, sent no message to any official, and sought to change no government act.”

FBI Special Agent Nicholas Chang testified at the hearing that four of the damaged Teslas belonged to private people and one was owned by the Tesla company. The owners’ insurance covered the cars, he said, and Tesla did not seek restitution for its vehicle because it did not want to provide cost information.

At Kim’s residence, he said, investigators found clothing similar to what the suspect wore, including items containing pink spray paint residue.

On Kim’s computer, the FBI found search queries about Tesla arson incidents, the FBI and evading law enforcement, he told the judge.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.