Who Is Vikram Beri, Indian-Origin Millionaire Arrested For Crashing Tesla, Arson

Vikram Beri, an Indian-origin millionaire entrepreneur, has been arrested after he allegedly attempted to set a California winery ablaze.

The 42-year-old deliberately rammed two parked vehicles with his Tesla while fleeing and threw a bottle of wine at staff who confronted him during the alleged arson attempt, police said. 

An official statement said Beri later drove the car off an embankment and repeatedly refused to surrender despite de-escalation efforts, forcing officers to use pepperball rounds and pepper spray to bring him out of the vehicle.

Who Is Vikram Beri?

Vikram Beri, 42, is a Menlo Park-based entrepreneur. He founded BetterLYF Wellness, an online mental health platform, nearly nine years ago.

Beri holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, completed in 2007. He later earned an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Indian School of Business, where he studied between 2010 and 2011.

Beri has held senior leadership roles at farm equipment manufacturer Fieldking for over a decade, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has served as president of Fieldking USA since August 2021, a full-time role based in Menlo Park, California. He has also been the executive director at Fieldking since April 2011, overseeing operations from India.

Beri oversees the company's domestic and international sales and marketing strategy and has played a key role in expanding its presence across India and overseas, according to the company website. He is also involved in developing leadership capacity and supporting the growth of younger professionals within the organisation.

From July 2007 to October 2008, he worked as a consultant at Deloitte.

What Happened After The Incident?

Beri was taken into custody on December 8 at Garrod Farms Estate Winery & Stables in Saratoga, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. He tried to ignite a fire on the property and became aggressive when confronted by staff, allegedly throwing a wine bottle at them, police said.

Beri was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest and was later taken to a hospital for evaluation.