 "Nazi car’ graffiti and arson: How anti-Tesla protests and attacks across US are on rise")
From Molotov cocktails to arson and “Nazi car” graffiti, Tesla is seeing it all.
In recent days, while there have been several peaceful “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations across the US, there have also been a number of incidents of violence that have resulted in arrests and legal action.
This comes as the company CEO, Elon Musk, continues to cut federal employees through Doge or the Department of Government Efficiency .
The rising incidents of anti-Tesla attacks
Since Donald Trump took office in January of this year, at least 10 incidents of vandalism against Tesla cars, dealerships, or charging points have been reported by local media and police.
According to CBS News, in one of the incidents, Lucy Grace Nelson, 42, hurled a Molotov cocktail at a Cybertruck that was parked at a dealership in Loveland, Colorado. She made four additional visits back to the dealership in February, following the initial attack on January 29.
She allegedly caused between $5,000 and $20,000 in damage to a Tesla dealership, the report claims.
Police claim that Nelson set small fires on the site by lighting molotov cocktails inside vodka bottles and vandalised the Tesla dealership by spray-painting “Nazi” beneath the dealership’s entry sign. Nelson is still being held on a charge of malicious destruction of property.
A day after protesters gathered to oppose Musk, “No Musk” with swastika graffiti was found at a Tesla showroom in Maryland on March 3.
Over half a dozen Tesla charging stations were intentionally set on fire, according to Massachusetts police the following day.
On March 6, Harrison Grant Randall, 39, of the Brookline suburb of Boston, was accused of vandalising a few Tesla vehicles with Musk stickers in the name of “free speech.” A pre-trial hearing for him is scheduled in May.
At least seven rounds were fired by a shooter at a Tesla showroom in Portland, Oregon, the same day. The police report stated that some windows and three cars were damaged.
Last week on Friday, an arson was reported at Loveland dealership that Nelson allegedly vandalised.
No one was injured in any of the incidents that were reported.
As part of nationwide anti-Tesla demonstrations, more than 350 protesters gathered at a Tesla showroom in New York City on Saturday. One person was arrested for resisting arrests, hindering government administration, and breaking a local law, while the other five were arrested for disorderly conduct.
Also read: Is Trump reining in Musk’s power after Doge backlash?
The reason
Since becoming head of the recently created Doge , Elon Musk has been involved in policy-making decisions and in the reduction of federal employees.
It has cut over 62,000 federal jobs so far, and more are underway, with the Veterans Affairs Department planning to cut thousands of jobs in the coming months.
Additionally, Musk emailed all federal employees, asking them to respond with a justification for their job. He went so far as to say that not answering would be interpreted as resignation.
He has supported Germany’s far-right, anti-Muslim, pro-Russian party, referred to the British prime minister as an “evil tyrant” who governs a “police state,” and declared, about a significant Tesla market and neighbour of the US, that “Canada is not a real country.”
‘Vandalism is not free speech’
Musk is yet to respond to the growing anti-Tesla protests across the country.
However, he replied to a video of a man seen vandalising Tesla vehicles, saying, “Damaging the property of others, aka vandalism, is not free speech!”
Impact on Tesla business
The timing of the backlash is harming Tesla.
The company’s shares are down more than 35 per cent since Trump’s inauguration. It is also dealing with a rising lack of investor confidence.
Notably, Tesla’s shares rose among the highest after Trump won the election on November 5, raising hopes that the electric vehicle manufacturer would profit from Musk’s tight relationship with the new president.
However, a Bloomberg report claims that the carmaker firm is on course to lose all of its $700 billion post-election gains due to the current decline.
Investor confidence has been shattered for several reasons, including a sales drop for the first time in ten years.
Given Musk’s advocacy of right-wing politics, some investors are worried that the billionaire is losing focus on his role as CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer.
Customers are increasingly viewing Tesla vehicles as a symbol of Musk’s far-right beliefs, rather than the environmentally conscious vehicles they once were.
Tesla investor Ross Gerber says Musk has somehow managed to marry the world’s best product with the world’s worst marketing.
“People want to buy stuff that makes them feel good, you don’t want politics involved,” said Gerber, a money manager whose portfolios hold nearly $60 million in Tesla stock. “It’s even worse when you have such divisive issues, whether it’s firing climate scientists or taking aid away from starving African children.”
With inputs from agencies
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