Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House
Cybertrucks set ablaze. 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 U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.
Video above: Group of Teslas set on fire at Las Vegas Tesla dealership
There has been a clear uptick since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency 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.
In Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s first term, his properties in New York City, Washington and elsewhere became a natural place for protest. In the early days of his second term, Tesla is filling that role.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Tesla is an easy target,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Randy Blazak, a sociologist who studies political violence. 바카라 게임 웹사이트They바카라 게임 웹사이트re rolling down our streets. They have dealerships in our neighborhoods.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Musk critics have organized dozens of peaceful demonstrations at Tesla dealerships and factories across North America and Europe. Some Tesla owners, who feuded with Musk, have vowed to sell their vehicles.
But the attacks are keeping law enforcement busy.
Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman last month in connection with a string of attacks on Tesla dealerships, including Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words 바카라 게임 웹사이트Nazi cars바카라 게임 웹사이트 spray-painted on a building.
And federal agents in South Carolina last week arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston. An agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in an affidavit that authorities found writings critical of the government and DOGE in his bedroom and wallet.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The statement made mention of sending a message based on these beliefs,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the agent wrote.
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.
An Oregon man is facing charges after allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returning another day and shooting out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom last week, damaging vehicles and windows, the second time in a week that the store was targeted.
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.
In Las Vegas, several Tesla vehicles were set ablaze early Tuesday outside a Tesla service center where the word 바카라 게임 웹사이트resist바카라 게임 웹사이트 was also painted in red across the building바카라 게임 웹사이트s front doors. Authorities said at least one person threw Molotov cocktails 바카라 게임 웹사이트 crude bombs filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and fired several rounds from a weapon into the vehicles.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think 바카라 게임 웹사이트 the writing on the wall, potential political agenda, an act of violence,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office, said at a news conference. 바카라 게임 웹사이트None of those factors are lost on us.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Tesla becomes a target for the left
Tesla was once the darling of the left. Helped to viability by a $465 million federal loan during the Obama administration, the company popularized electric vehicles and proved, despite their early reputation, that they didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t have to be small, stodgy, underpowered and limited in range.
More recently, though, Musk has allied himself with the right. He bought the social network Twitter, renamed it X and erased restrictions that had infuriated conservatives. He spent an estimated $250 million to boost Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s 2024 campaign, becoming by far his biggest benefactor.
Musk continues to run Tesla 바카라 게임 웹사이트 as well as X and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX 바카라 게임 웹사이트 while also serving as Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s adviser.
Tesla stock doubled in value in the weeks after Trump바카라 게임 웹사이트s election but has since shed all those gains.
Trump gave a boost to the company when he turned the White House driveway into an electric vehicle showroom. The president promoted the vehicles and said he would purchase an $80,000 Model S, eschewing his fierce past criticism of electric vehicles.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Musk briefly addressed the vandalism Monday during an appearance on Sen. Ted Cruz바카라 게임 웹사이트s podcast, saying 바카라 게임 웹사이트at least some of it is organized and paid for바카라 게임 웹사이트 by 바카라 게임 웹사이트leftwing organizations in America, funded by leftwing billionaires, essentially.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트This level of violence is insane and deeply wrong,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Musk on X, sharing a video of burning Teslas in Las Vegas. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The progressive group Indivisible, which published a guide for supporters to organize 바카라 게임 웹사이트Musk Or Us바카라 게임 웹사이트 protests around the country, said in a statement that all of its guidance is publicly available and 바카라 게임 웹사이트it explicitly encourages peaceful protest and condemns any acts of violence or vandalism.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Some Tesla owners have resorted to cheeky bumper stickers to distance themselves from their vehicle바카라 게임 웹사이트s new stigma, and perhaps deter would-be vandals. They say things like 바카라 게임 웹사이트I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy,바카라 게임 웹사이트 or 바카라 게임 웹사이트I just wanted an electric car. Sorry guys.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Prices for used Cybertrucks, Tesla바카라 게임 웹사이트s most distinctive product, have dropped nearly 8% since Trump took office, according to CarGurus, which aggregates used car vehicle listings. The market as a whole remained steady over the period.
The White House vows a crackdown
The White House has thrown its weight behind Musk, the highest-profile member of the administration and a key donor to committees promoting Trump's political interests. Trump has said Tesla vandalism amounts to 바카라 게임 웹사이트domestic terror,바카라 게임 웹사이트 and Trump has threatened retribution, warning that those who target the company are 바카라 게임 웹사이트going to go through hell.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she바카라 게임 웹사이트d opened an investigation 바카라 게임 웹사이트to see how is this being funded, who is behind this.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트If you바카라 게임 웹사이트re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we바카라 게임 웹사이트re coming after you,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Bondi said Friday on Fox Business Network. In a statement Tuesday, she vowed to 바카라 게임 웹사이트continue investigations that impose severe consequences,바카라 게임 웹사이트 including for 바카라 게임 웹사이트those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, said left-wing political violence tends to target property rather than people. He views the rise of neo-Nazi groups as a bigger security threat at this point.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s not the type of act that I would prioritize,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Clarke said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Not right now compared to all the other threats that are out there.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Theresa Ramsdell is the president of the Tesla Owners of Washington state, a club for Tesla enthusiasts, and she and her husband own three of them.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Hate on Elon and Trump all you want 바카라 게임 웹사이트 that바카라 게임 웹사이트s fine and dandy, it바카라 게임 웹사이트s your choice,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t justify ruining somebody바카라 게임 웹사이트s property, vandalizing it, destroying it, setting it on fire. There바카라 게임 웹사이트s other ways to get your voice heard that바카라 게임 웹사이트s more effective.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Someone recently slapped a 바카라 게임 웹사이트no Elon바카라 게임 웹사이트 sticker on the tailgate of her Cybertruck, but she said she doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트t intend to stop driving her Teslas. Other club members have taken a similar view, she said.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I love my car. It바카라 게임 웹사이트s the safest car,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Ramsdell said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트m not going to let somebody else judge me for the car I drive.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.