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Elon Musk weighed in on anti-Tesla vandalism in a current interview.
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Musk blamed the political left and prompt the vandalism could also be linked to DOGE’s efforts to determine fraudulent spending.
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He voiced confusion on the hate directed towards him and Tesla, saying it was a “peaceable” firm and he hadn’t achieved something incorrect.
Elon Musk has some phrases for Tesla vandals.
Requested in regards to the widespread incidents in opposition to Tesla dealerships and automobiles throughout a Fox News look on Tuesday, Musk denounced them and stated the vandalism had reached ranges he had by no means seen.
He additionally attributed the incidents to these on the political left.
“It is actually come as fairly a shock to me that there’s this degree of, actually, hatred and violence from the left,” Musk stated.
Protests have unfold throughout the US since Musk started his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in January. Throughout the pond, the slogan “Do not buy a Tesla” has been used as a rallying cry of kinds in international locations like Berlin and Wales.
The grassroots “Tesla Takedown” protest motion, which began on BlueSky, a competitor to Musk’s X platform, has referred to as for Tesla house owners to promote their automobiles and inventory in an effort to “cease Musk now.” A web site for the hassle has listed dozens of public demonstrations at Tesla showrooms in current weeks.
“I at all times thought that the left, you already know, Democrats have been alleged to be the social gathering of empathy, the social gathering of caring, and but they’re burning down automobiles, they’re firebombing dealerships, they’re firing bullets into dealerships, they’re smashing up Teslas,” Musk stated.
“Tesla is a peaceable firm,” he stated. “We have by no means achieved something dangerous.”
Musk additionally prompt, with out proof, that the protests and vandalism incidents could also be a part of a broader conspiracy in opposition to him.
“I imply, who’s funding and who’s coordinating it? As a result of that is loopy. I’ve by no means seen something like this,” Musk stated.
Since January, DOGE has labored to scale back authorities prices and what it describes as fraudulent spending and corruption. The hassle has despatched representatives to a number of federal authorities companies and examined federal packages such because the Social Safety Administration.
Though he did not point out a authorities division by title, Musk accused some individuals of receiving cash “fraudulently” and prompt a attainable connection to the protests in opposition to him and Tesla.
“And so they principally wish to kill me as a result of I am stopping their fraud and so they wish to harm Tesla as a result of we’re stopping the horrible waste and corruption within the authorities,” he advised Fox Information.
“I’ve by no means achieved something dangerous,” he stated.
Each President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice have not too long ago weighed in on the vandalism in opposition to Tesla, which police say has included Tesla charging stations set on fire, gunfire harm at dealerships, and harm to Tesla automobiles.
ATF investigators and a member of the Seattle Hearth Division examine burned Tesla Cybertrucks at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025.AP Photograph/Lindsey Wasson
When requested earlier this month if he was contemplating labeling violent assaults in opposition to Tesla dealerships as “domestic terrorism,” Trump indicated he would.
“They’re dangerous guys. They’re the identical guys who screw round with our colleges and universities,” Trump stated. “We’re gonna catch you, and also you’re gonna undergo hell.”
The Department of Justice stated Tuesday that it is pursuing these suspected of finishing up the continued vandalism, calling it “nothing in need of home terrorism.”
Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.
Native police are investigating assaults of their areas in partnership with federal companies, and arrests have been made in some circumstances.
In February, a Colorado woman was charged with felony intent to commit a felony, felony mischief, and utilizing explosives or incendiary units throughout a felony for her alleged involvement in a vandalism incident, police data say.
In the meantime, some Tesla house owners have advised BI that they’ve decided to sell their automobiles amid the protests or have affixed bumper stickers stating “I Purchased This Earlier than We Knew Elon Was Loopy.”
House owners of the Cybertruck, the car most intently related to Musk, additionally advised BI they’d skilled an uptick in road rage and vandalism directed at them in current months.
Learn the unique article on Business Insider
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