As Elon Musk tries to drastically cut the federal workforce and deepen the corridors of American energy, Electric CEO facilities of the CEO of Tesla have literally criticized.
There have been at least 10 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles, concessionaires or accusation stations in recent weeks, according to police and local reports, underlining the reaction that Musk has faced since he assumed an unprecedented role in the federal government.
On January 29, a 40 -year -old woman threw a Molotov cocktail in a cybertruck parked in a concessionaire in Loveland, Colorado, according to the police.
The woman, Lucy Grace Nelson, supposedly returned to the concessionaire four more times in recent weeks to cause more damage. She threw more Molotov cocktails, tried to set the concessionaire and spray painted the word “Nazi cars” in the building, before being arrested last week, said Loveland Police. Musk has been accused of supporting anti -Semitic claims and insulting the victims of Nazism.
Around 2,000 miles east, more than half a dozen Tesla load stations were intentionally burned near Boston, police said Monday.
And on the west coast, in Tigard, Oregon, the police said Thursday that at least seven shots were shot at a Tesla dealership there that morning, damaging three cars and destroying windows.
No injuries were reported in any of the incidents. Nelson’s lawyer could not be contacted to comment and a voicemail for the Federal Office of Public Defenders of Colorado said he does not comment on pending cases.
Tesla did not immediately return a request for comments. In response to a video that shows a man destroying Teslas, published by authorities in Maryland, Musk replied: “Damage the property of others, also known as vandalism, is not freedom of expression!”
Before the attacks at the Tesla dealership, the Loveland Police Chief, Tim Doran, said he could not remember a time when a single business in the community, approximately 45 miles north of the state capital, Denver, similarly attracted repeated acts of violence.
He said that his department has no indications that vandalism in the Colorado dealership is related to the acts of vandalism in other places.
“This is not absolutely the way of making a statement,” Doran said in an interview. “Putting people’s lives at risk is never the way to do this.”
In January, President Donald Trump took advantage of Musk to direct the Government Efficiency Department (Doge).
Doge, previously known as the United States digital service, has been reducing federal workforce and government programs at an unprecedented rate in recent weeks. As civil officials have been abruptly fired in the masses, the municipalities of the Republican Party in person have heated, with many attacked components against legislators about the cuts.
The appointment of Musk for the agency and its designation as a “special employee of the government”, which avoids it with more onerous research requirements typical of full -time government employees, has raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest. Musk, the richest man in the world, Helms X, Spacex, Brain Computer Implant Company Neuralink and Ai Company Xai, in addition to Tesla.
The attacks in Tesla dealers also coincide with a decrease in sales for the electric car manufacturer. Recent data show a growing growth in electric battery vehicles in Europe, but new Tesla vehicle records in Europe have dropped 45% year -on -year for January and China.
Musk’s incursion into politics seems to have hit his personal fortune too. Since mid -December, the Net Equity of Tech Titan fell more than $ 100 billion, or approximately 25%, fueled by a sale of Tesla shares. Until Saturday, Tesla shares have dropped more than 30% since the beginning of the year.
Michael Morris, professor at Columbia Business School, author of “Tribal”, a book on cultural divisions, said he predicts that cultural setback will eventually force Musk to renounce Doge if his businesses continue to suffer.
“It would be a tragedy for the world if Elon Musk’s good job in Tesla and his good work in Spacex, and his good job in his solar company was derailed for a cultural setback against his somewhat amateur attempts to reform the government,” said Morris.
Interruptions in Tesla facilities do not seem to be decreasing.
On Friday, the same concessionaire of Colorado Tesla burned again, according to the police. The police said in a statement that the new case does not seem to be related to Nelson, but suggested that she inspired an actor imitator. Nelson was accused of the use of explosives or incendiary devices during a serious crime, criminal mischief and criminal attempt to commit a serious class 3 crime, and is out of jail with a personal recognition link.
And on Saturday in New York City, the Police arrested nine protesters who demonstrated within a Tesla exhibition hall, according to a spokesman for the New York City Police Department.
