‘Tesla Road Rage Guy’ Sentenced to 5 years in Prison For Series of Attacks Including One in East Pasadena

A Tesla driver who carried out road-rage attacks in Pasadena and Los Angeles in January was sentenced to five years in prison this week, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The Pasadena incident occurred on Jan. 11. According to the District Attorney’s office,  a man driving a dark gray Tesla SUV without a license plate got out of his car carrying a pipe after a driver got into a minor confrontation exiting a parking lot in the 1400 block of East Colorado Blvd. The driver drove off with his passenger but the man, who turned to be Radimak, chased them, got out and hit their car with the pipe. The victims were able to escape.

Besides Pasadena, Nathaniel Walter Radimak, 36, was also involved in attacks in Glendale and Atwater Village in 2022. 

In February, he was charged with a dozen criminal counts –  four counts each of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and criminal threats and one felony count of vandalism, along with two misdemeanor counts of vandalism and one misdemeanor count of elder abuse. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during the arraignment. 

On Monday, Radimak, who has been nicknamed by some as the “Tesla road rage guy,” was sentenced to five years in prison. 

The presiding judge had earlier this year granted a request by prosecutors that Radimak’s application for bail be denied as he was considered a flight risk and a danger to the community. 

Prosecutors cited his “lengthy criminal history which spans nearly two decades and crosses multiple states and jurisdictions” as the basis for the request. They also said Radimak has a record of run-ins with the law in eight different states since 2004. 

“The victims in this case were reasonably terrified by what they experienced, but this reign of terror ends today,” LA County District Attorney George Gascón said when Radimak was charged in January. “Motorists in Los Angeles shouldn’t have to live in fear of being attacked while simply driving on the freeway.” 

Radimak is also reportedly charged with a misdemeanor count of battery and a felony count of possession for sale of a controlled substance after another road-rage attack in 2020 in Hollywood. 

The District Attorney’s Office said authorities found steroids and more than $30,000 in cash when they searched his vehicle. 

Radimak remains in custody at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.