A Tesla employee from Minnesota was charged with terroristic threats against Elon Musk, Joe Biden and others. Justin M. McCauley, 31, was arrested near Tesla's headquarters in Austin, Texas. He allegedly threatened to kill his boss, Elon Musk, and the President.

McCauley, an engineering technician has been with Tesla for the past three years. His online professional bio says he worked for Tesla for the past three years. And was an engineering technician.

The bio does not specify the job's location. But Tesla has a facility in Brooklyn Park with employees in engineering, information technology and manufacturing.

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Terroristic Threats

He was apprehended on Jan. 28 and is currently held in Travis County Jail with bail set at $20,000. The arrest followed an alert to the Sheriff's Office on Jan. 27. The alert pointed to threats made by McCauley on X; the social media platform owned by Musk.

According to the arrest affidavit, McCauley's disturbing online messages included statements like, "I will arrive in Texas, where the war has begun on many fronts @X, @Tesla," and "@JoeBiden @X @Tesla @Elonmusk, I am planning to Kill all of you."

McCauley's wife contacted Minnesota police after her husband informed her that he was heading to Texas and would not be returning. To avoid being tracked, McCauley left his phone behind.

During a traffic stop in Oklahoma, he expressed a desire to speak to President Biden, stating, "Wouldn't you want to talk to the president if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?" 

Subsequently, in Austin, McCauley was stopped by law enforcement on I-35, claiming he planned to visit the Tesla Gigafactory in Dell Valle to communicate with Musk. He claimed he knew of a secret entrance into the facility. And that he intended to share a secret password only known to him.

McCauley's troubling actions prompt a closer look at his criminal history, and state-of-mind.

He had previous convictions in Minnesota for disorderly conduct while intoxicated. He was also convicted in Ohio for resisting arrest.