Elon Musk is facing a growing violent backlash from US and European protesters over his support for Donald Trump and far-right parties. Demonstrators have gathered at Telsa showrooms to vent their anger at the South African billionaire.
Although most have been peaceful, some have involved more extreme measures. In France, a fire broke out at a Telsa dealership near Toulouse, which authorities said they were treating as suspicious. In the latest incident, four cyber trucks were torched last week in a parking lot in Seattle.
No one was injured, and the trucks were the only property damaged, according to local police.
The price of a 2025 Tesla Cybertruck starts at $81,985 (£63,193) and goes up to $101,985 (£78,617) depending on the trim and options.
Violent attacks on Telsa showrooms are on the rise within the US. Police in Oregon said they are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership.
That shooting came a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado.
Molotov cocktails were thrown at vehicles, and the words “Nazi cars” were spray-painted on the building.
Donald Trump has vowed to label violent attacks on Telsa dealerships as acts of domestic terrorism and said perpetrators will “go through hell”.
A representative of the movement Telsa Takedown, which organises non-violent protests and condemns all forms of violence, told the Express that Elon Musk was causing real harm to America.
“Elon Musk is trying to distract from real harm: his backing of policies that gut public institutions, strip environmental protections and destabilise people’s lives,” they said.
“Musk openly supports a movement that is firing US federal workers en masse and dismantling programs that serve millions. Who is really causing harm here?”
They added: “It’s ironic that Donald Trump wants to label the peaceful Tesla Takedown movement as domestic terrorism.
“This is the man who sent a violent crowd to Capitol Hill to steal an election he lost, then pardoned more than 1,600 rioters who were found guilty by juries of their peers of serious crimes against the United States of America.”
