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.

A still from security camera video captures a suspect appearing to hold a concrete rock and a piece of duct tape while approaching a private residence with a Tesla Cybertruck parked in the driveway of a Novato residence. The suspect is accused of damaging the vehicle by slashing its tires and throwing the concrete rock at the windshield on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Novato Police Department via Bay City News)
A still frame from security camera video shows what appears to be a chunk of concrete being used to vandalize a Tesla Cybertruck in the driveway of a private Novato residence on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Novato Police Department via Bay City News)

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.

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.