SEVERAL Tesla vehicles were set alight on Friday as arson attacks against Elon Musk’s company spread from the US to Europe.
Four motors were ignited in the Plänterwald and Steglitz regions of Berlin, Germany, shortly after US President Trump openly endorsed Tesla in a speech outside the White House.
Incidents like these have been occurring at various Tesla locations globally as demonstrators express their opposition following Musk’s selection as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration.
Authorities in Berlin have mentioned the possibility of a “political motive” behind the fires, leading the State Security Division of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office to assume control of the case.
The unit is used to investigate threats to the state, which can include terrorism, extremism, and organized crime.
Reports of the first car fire were made around 1.40am local time on Friday, with the subsequent fires being spotted as the night progressed.
Berlin Police said in a report: “As yet unknown perpetrators set fire to a total of four Tesla electric cars in Plänterwald and Steglitz last night.
“No one was injured, and firefighters extinguished the fires.
“Since a political motive cannot be ruled out, the State Security Division of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office has taken over the ongoing investigation.”
Germany has seen a number of anti-Musk protests following his endorsement of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in the runup to February’s general election.
Most of these have targeted Tesla factories, and have included projecting an image of Musk making a controversial salute onto Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin in January.
The display was put up alongside the words “Heil Tesla”.
This comes following a spate of arson and anti-Musk attacks across the US, which have come after the businessman’s work at DOGE has led to mass layoffs of federal workers.
Most recently, an overnight incident in Tigard, Oregon, saw “more than a dozen” shots fired at a Tesla dealership, reports ABC News.
Tigard Police Department said this was the second time in the past week the dealership had been vandalized, after seven bullets damaged three cars and shattered windows on March 6.
While police are yet to define a motive for the attacks, they admitted “other Tesla dealerships have been targeted across Oregon and the nation for political reasons.”
On Tuesday, three Teslas were vandalized in Dedham, Massachusetts, including “words spray-painted” onto two Cybertrucks.
All four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S were “reportedly damaged”, according to Dedham Police Department.
That very same day, President Trump and Musk were seen outside the White House alongside a number of Teslas.
The open support from Trump comes as boycotts against Tesla have spread, with the electric carmaker’s sales plunging by 45 per cent in Europe.
In the face of the backlash, the he announced on Tuesday morning that he would buy a Tesla as “a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”
He said: “The attacks on Elon by the radical left are not just attacks on him, but on this incredible American company and the workers who make these spectacular cars,”
The president had also posted on Truth Social accusing leftists of trying to “illegally and collusively boycott Tesla.”
It is not illegal for consumers to boycott companies, as the Supreme Court in 1982 ruled that the First Amendment protects Americans’ rights to protest private businesses.
‘TESLA TAKEDOWNS’
On Sunday night, Teslas were also damaged in Seattle, Washington, as crews had to extinguish a fire involving four electric vehicles.
Seattle Police Department said the cause of the fire, and whether foul play was a factor, had not yet been determined.
However, other incidents have been more blatant, for example when on Saturday, six Teslas were vandalized at a dealership in Washington, with one black Cybertruck graffitied with swastikas.
A Tesla charging station in South Carolina was targeted by homemade Molotov cocktails on Friday, alongside a spray-painted expletive against Trump and the words “Long Live Ukraine”.
Seven Tesla charging stations also sustained heavy-fire related damage in Massachusetts on March 3, with officials saying these were “deliberate” attacks.
There have been countless other incidents against the company and Musk over the past few weeks.
Tesla is also facing dropping sales for the first time as a result of the boycotts, in what protestors are calling “Tesla takedowns.”
The company’s stock has also almost half its value since peaking in December – wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars from the company’s total value, according to CNBC.
