The problem lies in insurance costs. If these people managed to damage enough Teslas to cause insurance for Teslas to increase significantly that could reduce sales thereby hurting Tesla.
The problem with recovering the cost of the vehicle through restitution is that it only works if the offender has money to begin with. Regardless I do home all these people get hit with appropriate restitution.
Only? Really?
I had a friend who sued his neighbor for slander and defamation of character.
The defendant knew he was about to lose, but he didn't want to pay the judgement. So he tried getting rid of his home by transferring ownership to his daughter just before the verdict.
Courts don't like it when you play those games. When you "sell" your house to a relative for $1.00 during the hearing in a lawsuit, it's obvious what you are doing. I believe the judge referred him to the DA to file fraud charges on top of the lawsuit judgement against him.
My friend not only got a check for whatever cash the man had in the bank, but he also placed a lien on the man's home -- meaning the home can't be sold or refinanced unless my friend was paid first or agreed. He also filed to garnish the man's income.
In another relative's case, he passed a couple of bad checks that were less than $300 total. He was ordered to make restitution in 6 months. As that time passed, he lost his job and didn't find another one. Unable to pay, the court found him in contempt of court. He was arrested, thrown in jail, and wasn't released until he made restitution. My mother and i paid the amount of the bounced checks plus court costs after he spent a week in jail.
Moral of the story: the Tesla vandal doesn't necessarily need the money to satisfy an order of restitution. They can sell something, get a home equity loan, get a personal bank loan, have their paycheck garnished or borrow from relatives/friends.