Elon Musk’s Efforts to Identify Tesla Customer Doxxing Culprits Have Failed

San Francisco, CA — June 5, 2025

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of X, has yet to publicly identify the perpetrators behind the doxxing of Tesla owners via the now-infamous “Dogequest” website, which leaked personal details of customers in March 2025. Despite Musk’s technological prowess and vast resources, the culprits remain at large, raising questions about the feasibility of tracking down those responsible for what Musk has labeled “extreme domestic terrorism.” As protests against Musk’s political ties and Tesla’s brand intensify, the tech mogul’s inability to pinpoint the hackers has sparked speculation about the complexity of the cyberattack and the limits of his investigative reach.

The Dogequest website, which briefly surfaced in mid-March, exposed names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails of Tesla owners on an interactive map, alongside locations of Tesla dealerships, charging stations, and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff residences. The site, which used a Molotov cocktail cursor, encouraged vandalism and offered to remove owners’ data only upon proof of selling their vehicles. Musk condemned the site on X, stating, “Encouraging destruction of Teslas throughout the country is extreme domestic terrorism!!” The site was taken offline by Cloudflare shortly after its discovery, but not before it fueled a wave of vandalism and arson attacks on Tesla properties, which U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also branded as domestic terrorism.

Despite Musk’s reputation as a tech genius, no concrete updates have emerged from Tesla or Musk himself regarding the identification of the hackers. A single lead surfaced in April 2025, when the Daily Caller reported that a dark web doxxing site targeting Tesla owners might have used data from a 2021 ParkMobile app breach. However, this report, based on records from a data privacy group, remains unconfirmed by Musk, Tesla, or federal authorities, and it’s unclear if it directly ties to Dogequest. The lack of progress has led some to question whether Musk, despite his control over X’s data analytics and Tesla’s cybersecurity resources, is struggling to trace the perpetrators.

Cybersecurity experts suggest the challenge may lie in the sophistication of the attack or the anonymity of the perpetrators. “Doxxing sites like Dogequest often rely on stolen datasets sold on the dark web, and tracing the original hackers requires navigating a maze of encrypted networks and offshore servers,” said Dr. Elena Martinez, a cybersecurity professor at MIT. “Even someone with Musk’s resources might find it tough if the hackers covered their tracks well.” The site’s operators, who claimed to protest Musk’s ties to President Donald Trump and his role at DOGE, provided no identifiable information, and their email went unanswered by journalists.

The doxxing incident coincided with a surge in physical attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities, including Molotov cocktail incidents in Oregon, Colorado, and Las Vegas, and vandalism in Boston and San Diego. The FBI, under Deputy Director Dan Bongino, confirmed it is “actively working on the Tesla incidents,” with several perpetrators charged, but no specific mention has been made of the Dogequest hackers. Musk has vowed to pursue those responsible, stating in a May 2025 interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, “Those people will go to prison, and the people that funded them and organized them will also go to prison.” Yet, without public evidence of progress, skepticism persists.

Critics argue Musk’s focus on political controversies, including his feud with Trump and his DOGE initiatives, may be diverting attention from cybersecurity efforts. Tesla owners, meanwhile, remain frustrated. “Having our personal addresses out there is not something I think is cool,” said Scott, a San Diego Tesla owner, who noted the financial impracticality of selling his vehicles. Others, like Michael Bryant, a former Tesla owner doxxed despite selling his car years ago, called the act “irresponsible” and ineffective as a protest.

While the Department of Justice has taken a hardline stance on physical attacks, the doxxing itself falls into a gray area. “Doxxing isn’t always a clear-cut crime unless it incites violence or involves non-public data,” said Jeff Kosseff, a cybersecurity law professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. “If the data was scraped from public sources or prior breaches, prosecuting the perpetrators becomes trickier.” This may explain why the investigation appears to lean on the FBI and DOJ rather than Musk’s tech empire, despite his public outrage.

Musk’s defenders point to his history of tackling complex challenges, from building electric vehicles to landing rockets. However, the decentralized nature of anarchist-leaning groups, like those potentially behind Dogequest, poses a unique hurdle. The site’s link to the No Trace Project, a resource for covert activism, suggests a network designed to evade detection. As Tesla’s stock continues to reel—down 53% from its December 2024 peak—and protests persist, Musk’s failure to deliver on identifying the culprits risks further eroding public confidence in his leadership.

Tesla advised owners to enable Sentry Mode, which uses vehicle cameras to record surroundings, as a precaution against vandalism. Whether Musk’s tech genius will crack the case remains uncertain, but the saga underscores the volatile intersection of technology, politics, and public backlash in 2025.

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