On March 9, CBS issued an article stating that Tesla stores in the United States have been repeatedly vandalized recently, with incendiary bombs thrown, shootings and graffiti thrown at them. CBS believes that Musk’s radical political behavior is the biggest reason why people oppose Tesla.
CBS summarized recent news about damage to Tesla stores: January 29-February 11: Police in northern Colorado arrested 42-year-old Lucy Grace Nelson for causing $5,000 to $20,000 in damage to a Tesla dealer. Police said Nielsen spray-painted the word "Nazi" under a sign at the dealership's entrance and lit a Molotov cocktail inside a vodka bottle to start a fire in the parking lot. Nelson was charged with malicious damage to property and remains in custody.
On March 3, graffiti was discovered at a Tesla dealership in Maryland, a day after demonstrators gathered to protest Musk. The graffiti read "No Musk" and included a symbol that resembled a Nazi swastika.
On March 4, the Massachusetts State Police reported that seven Tesla charging stations were deliberately set on fire; on March 6, a 39-year-old man was accused of posting anti-Musk stickers on multiple Tesla vehicles. The man called this "freedom of speech"; on March 6, police in Portland, Oregon, said that at least seven bullets were fired at a Tesla dealership on Thursday, damaging three cars and breaking windows.
On March 7, police in northern Colorado reported another arson at the same Tesla dealership previously vandalized by Nelson; on March 8, as part of the nationwide "Down with Tesla" protests, more than 350 protesters gathered outside a Tesla showroom in Manhattan, New York City. Six people were arrested, five for disturbing the peace and one for resisting arrest, obstructing government administration and violating local laws.
CBS stated that the protests against Tesla stemmed from Musk's political behavior that aroused people's disgust. After Trump was sworn in in January, Musk led Trump's cost-cutting task force DOGE, which has eliminated more than 62,000 federal jobs. More federal job cuts are coming, with the Department of Veterans Affairs planning to eliminate thousands of positions in the coming months.
Musk has yet to issue a full response to the protests, but responded to a video released by authorities in Massachusetts of a man destroying a Tesla car: "Destroying other people's property, which is vandalism, is not free speech!"