By Jocelyn Anderson
Recently, there has been a shocking amount of Cyber Trucks and Teslas being vandalized, primarily in the United States. However, there are also reported cases of Tesla vandalism in countries like Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Many of the vandalizations comment on the U.S. government’s state of corruption, the U.S. being fascist and containing Nazis, or simply spewing hate towards Elon Musk. The vandalizations are also more commonly done to Cyber Trucks, rather than other Tesla cars.
Many Tesla owners are worried about their car being vandalized, too. In a survey done by an insurance company called Guardian Service, 46% of Tesla owners report that their car has been vandalized in some way. This includes being spray painted and graffitied, keyed, or any other type of intentional damage. A third of Tesla owners also reported that they will be getting rid of their vehicle within the next year.
As more people get rid of their Teslas, there are less people purchasing Teslas. One reason people are refusing to purchase Teslas is to protest the actions of Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, and the U.S government. Many Tesla owners bought their Teslas in past years before Elon Musk had any involvement in the government or showed any potential signs of Nazi beliefs. Still, many still feel merely owning the car, no matter how old it is, shows too much support for Musk.
Some Tesla owners have resorted to changing the appearance of their car, removing the Tesla logo from the front and backs of their cars. This is in an attempt to lower the chances of being a target of vandalism. Other owners have added anti-Musk stickers or magnets to their cars. The stickers and magnets are to assure people that the owner of the Tesla doesn’t support Elon Musk or the Tesla company anymore. The sticker’s often say phrases like “I bought this before Elon was crazy”, “Anti-Elon Tesla Club”, or “Not a MAGA-mobile”.
There are also specific states that seem to be getting hit harder. In California and New York there has been a much larger spike in Tesla and cyber truck vandalizations than in other states across the U.S. This could be happening in California because this was the birthplace of Tesla. Tesla started up in California, and Tesla cars and cyber trucks are more common in California than most other states. This could also be happening in New York because of the overall political views of New York. Most of New York’s residents are from the democratic party, which does not align with Tesla anymore. This could also be a main reason for the spike in California vandalization because it is a democratic state as well.
Overall, the vandalism of Teslas and Cyber Trucks is a protest against the U.S. government and Elon Musk. The hate against Teslas has caused the Tesla stock to go down in the past 5 months, most likely due to the mass boycotts. These boycotts will only be exacerbated by the fact new owners would dislike any probability of having their car vandalized, decreasing the pool of any remaining potential customer.
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