Inside Musk's mushrooming security apparatus

The day before Elon Musk spoke at a celebration for Tesla's futuristic Cybertruck pickup in November, a Florida man, Paul Overeem, was arrested near the company's Austin, Texas, factory and accused by the authorities of planning a "mass casualty event" there.

- KIRSTEN GRIND & JACK EWING

The incident later made headlines. What went less noticed is what happened at Tesla's event, which went ahead at the Austin factory.

Security had been alerted to Overeem's threats and was fully activated, according to two people with knowledge of the arrangements and documents viewed by The New York Times. The list of invitees was carefully curated, with each person screened well ahead of time. More than three dozen Tesla security officials were then stationed throughout the room when Musk, who runs the carmaker, took the stage. He also had bodyguards from his private security firm, Foundation Security, on hand.