Far-leftist crazy people who hate Elon Musk have taken to vandalizing and setting fire to Teslas, Tesla dealerships, and Tesla charging stations. These attacks have happened across the country and are capable of being carried out by one person or a small group of people armed with Molotov cocktails. Media pundits have been running cover for the terrorists, calling them "protesters," and even Democrat-elected leaders seem to take joy in the mayhem.
They all hate Elon Musk, and to be sure, you don't have to like civic and business leaders in the country—even if they rescue astronauts the previous administration stranded in space or provide internet connectivity to US states ravaged by storms. Hating a guy like that, well, that's anyone's own choice. No one has to buy a Tesla, and no one has to keep their Tesla once they buy it, but what one cannot do, what one can absolutely not engage in is terrorism against US companies or individuals. Yes, individuals. This whole thing has taken a drastic turn.
Attacks on Kansas and Las Vegas dealerships resulted in viral videos showing cars destroyed and on fire. These locales can now be added to the growing list of places Tesla has been attacked: South Carolina, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, and New York. But beyond that, some maleficent lunatics put up a map showing where not only all the official Tesla charging and dealership locations are in the US but also individual Teslas owned by regular people. The map depicts multiple people in the US just because they own Teslas. "We believe in empowering creative expressions of protest," the site claims. The cursor on the site is a Molotov cocktail. The site is advocating for violence. Action Network also calls for a boycott of Tesla and to tank the stock. "Sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines. We're tanking Tesla's stock price to stop Musk. Stopping Musk will help save lives and protect our democracy," they say.
One man in California has been charged with felony vandalism for keying a Tesla. A man in South Carolina accidentally set himself on fire when trying to set fire to charging stations. In Buffalo, a trans person took aim at a Tesla service center under construction. Another trans person in Colorado shot up a dealership, and some cars were there awaiting repairs. A Tesla owner spoke to local Colorado news with a face and voice disguised as saying he's afraid that he'll be attacked when driving his Tesla around. Other Tesla owners have put bumper stickers on their cars to indicate that they bought the vehicle before Elon Musk went pro-Trump, trying to gain sympathy from would-be terrorists.
AG Pam Bondi has come out and said that these attacks would be prosecuted like domestic terrorism. And that makes sense since terrorism, to quote Condoleezza Rice, is an act "designed to terrorize a community." Rice lived in Birmingham, Alabama, and knew the four girls who were killed in a church bombing there, at a church where her uncle was a pastor. She was just 8 years old in 1963 when she felt the jolt of the bomb shake the town. Leftists have roundly decried the church bombings of the civil rights era, but they are cheering on the Tesla destruction. Will they still feel so jubilant if people get killed? Will they still think that blowing up people's cars because they don't like the owner of the car company is a righteous move if children die because of their hate?
Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted, "If you need a little boost during the day, check out Tesla stock." Would he advocate for a decline in SpaceX stock, too? Or Starlink? SpaceX literally rescued stranded astronauts. Starlink has brought connectivity to places that have no hope of accessing broadband. The FBI is investigating swatting incidents across the country.
Pundits call the acts of terror against Tesla "protests," they justify the violence the same way they justified the assassination of a UnitedHealthcare CEO last fall, claiming that the company itself is at fault for the violence waged against it. But we can all tell the difference between a protest and terrorism. Standing around with signs is a protest. Lobbing Molotov cocktails? Well, that's just terrorism. During the violence of 2020, the protests were covered up, called "fiery but mostly peaceful," and property damage was justified as righteous activism. But if the country is ever going to be unified or get back on the same page, we need to agree on some terms. We can't speak if we don't share definitions.
As we move into riot season, there's little indication that any of this will stop. With Elon Musk directing spending cuts in DC, the war in Gaza ramping back up after Hamas declined to release more hostages, and the ideological deportations increasing, adversaries to Trump are only growing more emboldened the more entitled to the grievance they feel. But grievance isn't an excuse for violence, and terrorism must be condemned and the perpetrators prosecuted. There can be no quarter for terrorists in the United States.
