Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's staffer arrested after vandalizing several Tesla vehicles

Minnesota's Democratic governor, Tim Walz, is in the midst of a huge scandal after several media outlets revealed Friday that his tax policy analyst, Dylan Bryan Adams, was arrested after vandalizing several Tesla vehicles. Numerous surveillance images and videos, many of which have already been disseminated on social media, show the 33-year-old man with a leash in hand and alongside his dog, using his keys to scratch a parked Tesla car. At other times, Adams can be seen dragging his keys across the bodywork of other vehicles belonging to this company, which is owned by South African tycoon Elon Musk, causing damages worth over $20,000.

Other surveillance footage shows Gov. Walz's state employee systematically scratching Tesla cars parked in one of the state's quieter neighborhoods. Numerous images show Adams crossing the street and then approaching vehicles, which he appears to have chosen to scratch and cause damage. Different political analysts have explained that Adams, who is in charge of designing the fiscal policies of the Walz administration, could raise numerous questions about the governor's responsibility and potential legal exposure, given his public aversion not only to Musk but also to his electric vehicle company.

Walz's controversial statements

Adams' arrest comes a couple of weeks after the Democratic leader said publicly during a rally in Wisconsin that seeing Musk's company's stock price drop gave him a "little boost during the day." Likewise, Walz stated at the same event that "Some of you know this. On the iPhone, they’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day — $225 and dropping. And if you own one, we’re not blaming you. You can take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off." A few minutes after making these comments, the Minnesota governor tried to retract them, assuring that he had only been joking.

According to the Minnesota Police Department and the Minneapolis Police Department, Adams was accompanied by his dog during each and every one of his acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles. On the other hand, the Minnesota governor's office explained that Adams is not a political appointee of Walz, adding that the 33-year-old is just one of 40,000 state employees.