A man was arrested Thursday after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Tesla service and leasing center in the Irish Channel last week, according to local crime camera non-profit Project NOLA.
John Michael Hinkhouse, 37, was taken into custody by the New Orleans Fire Department and Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco and Firearms agents for the April 14 arson attack, Orleans Parish jail records showed.
Surveillance video released by NOFD showed a man throwing what was described by officials as a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the center at 2801 Tchoupitoulas St. The fire singed the front of the building and left debris outside in the days after.
Project NOLA used its camera system to track Hinkhouse’s movements, eventually tracing him down to a residence on Bordeaux Street, officials said. NOFD investigators recovered a motorcycle that was believed to have been used during the arson.
Last year, several Tesla shops and cars were targets of vandalism as CEO Elon Musk right-wing politics provoked a backlash. A group of Tesla Cybertruck drivers was pummeled with beads during the Krewe of Orpheus’ parade in 2025.
Earlier this year, Project NOLA’s surveillance cameras were also used to track a man arrested in connection with another high-profile arson case. Kyle Thomsen, a Bywater man, was arrested in connection with the burning of several cars in the Bywater area in January.
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