Arson, Shootings, and Graffiti: How Tesla Became a Target for Anti-Trump Extremists

A series of extreme acts that began in the past two months and is intensifying seeks to crush the private car brand “Tesla” of American billionaire Elon Musk. The reason: opposition from protesters, from the radical fringes, to the Trump administration, on whose election Musk gambled.

Over the past month and a half, the company has suffered a series of vandalism and destruction incidents worldwide in various violent forms, with dozens of cases recorded of Tesla vehicles being set on fire, vandalized, including swastikas and other graffiti, as authorities suspect a “planned and organized terror wave against Elon Musk’s Tesla cars.” Here’s a partial list:

German police announced last Saturday that seven Tesla vehicles were set ablaze in the city of Warden in northern Germany. For now, they haven’t specified whether it was deliberate arson, stating only that an investigation has been opened to clarify the circumstances.

In Berlin, several fires broke out at a construction site for a Tesla factory expansion, and the police view it as arson.In France, 12 new Tesla cars parked outside a manufacturer’s dealership in Toulouse were set on fire. Alongside the 12 cars destroyed, four others were damaged by vandals. According to the Toulouse district prosecutor’s office: “This was not an accident at all.”

In Rome, a Tesla dealership hub was set on fire last week, burning 17 vehicles. The police are investigating.

In Boston, Massachusetts, unknown individuals set fire to Tesla charging stations after waiting for them to empty of car owners.

Molotov cocktails were also thrown at a charging station in South Carolina, where the suspect spray-painted “Long Live Ukraine” on the ground.In the streets of Las Vegas, several Tesla cars were set on fire in a well-planned attack.At least five Tesla vehicles at a Las Vegas sales center were hit in “at least three rounds” of gunfire, with the word “Resistance” spray-painted on the business’s entrance doors. Several cars caught fire.

In Portland, gunfire occurred at a Tesla company center; the police are investigating.

In Colorado, federal prosecutors charged a woman with spray-painting “Nazi” on a Tesla dealership wall and leaving a Molotov cocktail near a car; improvised explosives were later found in her vehicle.

In Salem, Oregon, a man was arrested and charged with starting fires outside a Tesla dealership, causing at least $500,000 in damage, and firing at the same dealership a month later.

In Canada, police are investigating 28 anti-Tesla incidents since the U.S. president’s inauguration in January, including spray-painting hate messages, throwing eggs at cars, and smashing windows.

Tesla service centers in Germany, Sweden, and Canada were vandalized with spray paint and graffiti.In numerous cities, Tesla cars were defaced with swastikas and hate messages against Musk. For example, in New York, unknown individuals spray-painted graffiti reading “Heil Hitler” and “Tesla are Fascists” on Tesla vehicles.

The Enemy: Elon Musk

Since the U.S. presidential election, Musk has become a political and controversial figure in the U.S. and worldwide due to his enlistment in Trump’s campaign, to which he donated many millions of his own money, and after the victory, he became a close ally of the president.

Musk was appointed by Trump to head the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), aimed at promoting massive government cuts, through which 100,000 employees have been sacked so far.

Elon Musk’s policies and active involvement in the Trump administration have ignited a wave of protests in the United States. Protesters oppose Musk’s influence on the American government and denounce what they call his “fascist” behavior, calling to “give it back to him” by boycotting Tesla cars.

The protesters object to Musk’s appointment as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, in the Trump administration, claiming that a tech entrepreneur, currently the world’s richest person, used his wealth to fund Trump’s campaign and is now exploiting his election to “take over the government.”

They argue they fear that Musk’s initiatives under DOGE, whose stated goal is to cut government spending, “undermine democratic processes” and “are dangerous to the United States in particular and the world in general” (sound familiar?).

“Tesla Takedown” Protest

If at first these were trickles of small, localized protests, in recent weeks the protests have taken shape and form, now known as the “Tesla Takedown” protest. On February 15, the official “Tesla Takedown” protest group was established, responsible for organizing the protests against Tesla.

According to protest leaders, the movement’s goal is “to economically impact Musk and challenge his political influence through peaceful means,” namely: non-violent protests against Tesla stores across the United States and urging the public to disavow Tesla by selling their vehicles and company stocks.

For example, last Saturday (March 29), protest leaders declared a “Day of Rage,” calling for “quiet” protests without violence at Tesla offices worldwide and even at charging stations.

The following day, Sunday, the organizers claimed the protests took place in at least 253 cities worldwide. They said the special protest day included over 200 planned events globally. The demonstrations began earlier in Australia and New Zealand, later spreading to Europe, observed in countries like Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Amusingly, the protest organization’s website features a long list of reasons to act and protest against Musk and Tesla, dubbed in Hebrew: “Protest, no matter why.”

Here’s a partial list:

Musk expressed shock at the targeted attacks on Tesla cars across the country, blaming the Democratic Party. “They (the Democrats) are burning cars, throwing Molotov cocktails at dealerships, shooting bullets at agencies, simply destroying Tesla vehicles,” Musk said.

In another statement posted on the X network, Musk responded to the attack on the company’s headquarters in Las Vegas, calling it “insane and completely misguided.” He emphasized that Tesla, as an electric vehicle manufacturer, “has done nothing to justify these vicious attacks.”

Government Response

President Trump wrote about the vandalism of Tesla vehicles in the U.S.: “I really look forward to seeing these sick terrorist thugs get 20 years in prison for what they’re doing to Elon Musk and Tesla.”

Trump added a threat: “Maybe they can serve their sentence in El Salvador’s recently famous prisons with their wonderful conditions!”

FBI Director Kash Patel wrote: “The FBI is investigating the rise in violent activity against Tesla, and in recent days, we have taken additional steps to examine and adjust our response. This is domestic terrorism. Those responsible will be hunted, caught, and brought to justice.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “The wave of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing less than an act of domestic terrorism. We will continue the investigation, which will impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks.”

Since there is no standalone federal “domestic terrorism” law, defendants will need to face trial under other federal laws. Bondi did not specify which charges could be filed but said the accused could face penalties of at least five years in prison.

Kikar HaShabbat contributed to this article.