US protests against Elon Musk also turn against Tesla

Protests against tech billionaire and government advisor Elon Musk are on the rise in the USA and now also in Europe. Although the actions are primarily aimed at Musk's political activities, they are also directed against one of his best-known companies: Tesla.

Following the mass layoffs initiated by Musk at US government agencies, people in numerous cities have protested outside Tesla shops. In Massachusetts, police believe that seven Tesla charging stations were deliberately set on fire. “At this point it does appear that it was a set fire,” Steele McCurdy, fire chief of Littleton, said. Littleton police, who have received assistance from the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, also believe the fire was arson. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire.

In the days before, there had been peaceful demonstrations in front of several Tesla stores, for example, in New York, but also in Florida, Arizona and Boston (Massachusetts). There were also actions against Tesla in Republican states such as Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska. The posters featured slogans such as ‘Stop the Steal,’ ‘No Dictators in the USA’ and ‘Elon must go.’ There were also allusions to Elon Musk’s highly controversial arm gesture resembling a Nazi salute at an event for Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

A number of celebrities have already announced in recent weeks that they are selling their Teslas. The organisers behind the ‘Tesla Takedown’ campaign are also calling for Tesla shares to be sold. In this way, they not only want to hit the company, but also Elon Musk’s private assets, which are largely based on Tesla shares.

Tesla has also been the target of vandalism in Europe: a dozen Tesla vehicles were set on fire at a car dealership near the French city of Toulouse. Arson is also suspected here.

In Germany, an environmental protest group claimed to have deliberately set fire to two construction cranes and cable ducts in protest against the German Tesla factory on Tuesday night. A construction company that allegedly works with Tesla and Deutsche Bahn, which wants to build a new freight station near the Tesla factory, was named as the target. The fires caused considerable disruption to rail traffic.

cbsnews.com (fire in Littleton), insideevs.com (protests), france24.com (France), teslarati.com (Germany)