Ongoing protests have been levied against tech mogul Elon Musk’s electric car company in recent weeks. From cybertrucks being set ablaze to bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms, attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up across the US and overseas.
Multiple Tesla vehicles were set on fire and shot at a Las Vegas service centre overnight, according to a CNN report. The attack, which occurred at the Tesla Collision Center, resulted in at least five vehicles being damaged, with two of them fully engulfed in flames. The FBI is investigating the incident, stating that it has “some of the hallmarks” of terrorism.
Even though no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted. In Canada, Tesla was removed from an international auto show over safety concerns.
The attacks coincide with growing criticism of Musk’s leadership in the Department of Government Efficiency, a federal cost-cutting initiative. As the head of the program, Musk has faced nationwide protests, many of which have been directed at Tesla, the company he leads.
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Rise in Tesla attacks There has been a sharp rise in Tesla attacks since Donald Trump returned to the White House and picked Elon Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that is slashing government spending. Experts on domestic extremism say it’s impossible to know yet if the spate of incidents will balloon into a long-term pattern.
When Trump came to power in the first term, his properties in New York City, Washington and elsewhere were targeted and became a natural place for protest. During his second term, Tesla is filling that position, according to news agency AP.
“Tesla is an easy target,” said Randy Blazak, a sociologist who studies political violence. “They’re rolling down our streets. They have dealerships in our neighbourhoods.” Musk critics have organised dozens of peaceful demonstrations at Tesla dealerships and factories across North America and Europe. Some Tesla owners, including a US senator who feuded with Musk, have vowed to sell their vehicles.
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The Las Vegas incident is the latest in a string of attacks on Tesla vehicles and facilities in the US. In early March, seven Tesla charging stations were set on fire at a shopping mall near Boston. Less than a week later, six protesters were arrested after occupying a Tesla showroom in New York City. In Oregon, a Tesla dealership was hit by gunfire in the early hours of Thursday, damaging three cars and shattering windows.
A number of the most prominent incidents have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high.
Four Cybertrucks were set on fire in a Tesla lot in Seattle earlier this month. On Friday, witnesses reported a man poured gasoline on an unoccupied Tesla Model S and started a fire on a Seattle street. “Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think – the writing on the wall, potential po
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