Bradley Fitzgerald
Staff Writer
If you happened to hear the sound of breaking windows or torched metal nearby last week, there’s a slight chance a nearby Tesla may have just been put out of commission.
Tesla cars around the United States, particularly Cybertrucks, have been targeted for their association with tech mogul and current Trump Senior Advisor, Elon Musk.
Musk, who has been busy since the Trump inauguration with D.O.G.E., has angered many Americans due to his gesture at rally’s, numerous spending of the federal government, and association to the 47 President.
The car brand has suffered a tremendous amount in the past few weeks. Plunges in the stock market with the addition of vandalism nationwide against Tesla cars have wounded the once premier trademark of electric vehicle innovations.
Items such as Molotov cocktails are being used to destroy these cars, which is unwise for several reasons. Putting aside the complete illegality of committing such an act, all Tesla cars have cameras covering every square inch of the car. Perpetrators are almost guaranteed to be discovered.
Charges have been made against several vandalizers in what is being called ‘Domestic Terrorism” by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The writing of hateful symbols on Tesla cars, including the word ‘Nazi’, are due to the gesture made by Musk at an Inauguration celebration.
Another reason for the outbreak of vandalism is because on March 11, Trump and Elon staged a public endorsement for Tesla in front of The White House. Labeling someone a term such as ‘Nazi’ is not something to be taken lightly, and to do so I believe requires absolute evidence. I would like to acknowledge, before venturing any further, I do not condone the destruction of anybody’s private property. Participating in any illicit activity deserves the retribution and enforcement of the law.
Americans who own Tesla’s are being persuaded to trade in their cars, or risk having them vandalized. Americans should not be afraid of having private property destroyed, regardless of whether they support a certain brand.
On a logical stance, trading in of a Tesla makes no sense to me. If you trade in a Tesla, someone else in the future will get the car. I conclude that people should just be allowed to own whatever car brand they prefer. Many Americans are driving Tesla’s that were purchased before Elon Musk began supporting Donald Trump, so to blame them for recent events would be irresponsible.
There are reports that owners of Tesla’s are being doxxed online, allowing for there to be a public record of information of those who own a Tesla. If they are to prove they have gotten rid of their car, the site’s manager promises to delete their information off the site. This is not only illegal, but a breach of privacy; nobody deserves this.
Groups who are protesting Elon but are not affiliated with these criminal acts, fear the elimination of cutting of Medicare or Medicaid as a main concern. Musk has announced recalls for Tesla cars, most likely to stop them from being
vandalized or destroyed.
The destruction of privately owned property should not be encouraged. The way to express disapproval of a brand would be a boycott, not a burning of the products. I theorize that most of this anger is occurring because Trump is, or at least seems to be, impossible to be thwarted. There is nothing that can be done to stop Trump or his agenda, so Elon is now being made the target.
The only goal I could see that is possible to explain why the attacks occur would be to make Trump forced to fire Elon, and result in D.O.G.E. ‘s closure. However, I do not see this happening. If anything, I feel Elon will be emboldened to succeed in his mission to cut spending. I also do not see Elon Musk stepping down as CEO of Tesla. His personality as a billionaire and
a successful innovator gives him the ability to believe he can succeed where others want him to fail. I believe he will continue to run Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla for the foreseeable future.