Politics
JUST IN: Trump Admin To Classify Attacks On Tesla Dealers As Domestic Terrorism
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration will be classifying the increase of attacks on Tesla dealerships and car owners as acts of domestic terrorism. The president added that federal law enforcement is investigating and already has an idea of who the responsible individuals and/or groups are.
As Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a prominent role in the Trump Administration, calls for violence against him, as well as attacks on his companies, have increased significantly. The latest incident took place in Seattle on Sunday night, when four Tesla vehicles were set on fire and vandalized. Officials stated that other vehicles were moved away in order to avoid the fire.
While the Seattle incident is currently under investigation, the motive appears quite clear, as the currently unidentified vandals scribbled Swastikas and other anti-Musk messages on cars that escaped the blaze.
Additional incidents across the United States have been directly attributed to anti-Trump/Musk extremists. On Friday, a Tesla charging station in South Carolina was torched with a homemade Molotov cocktail. The attacker, who has yet to be identified, spelled out the words “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” in red paint just in front of the charging station, according to the North Charleston Police Department.
A vandalized Tesla cyber truck in Seattle
Photo: Kevin Dahlgren (@kevindahlgren) via X
In a similar incident, several Tesla vehicles were torched in Massachusetts on March 3, according to the Littleton Police Department. Officials determined the fires to be “deliberately” set, and the investigation is still ongoing to find the arsonist(s), according to a report from ABC News.
The social media site Reddit has also been rife with anti-Musk and anti-Trump extremism, which has been documented by the “Reddit Lies” X account, since President Trump’s re-election.
On the ironically named “law” subreddit, a post praising the “storming” and shutting down of multiple Tesla dealers received 139,000 upvotes. “This is the kind of protest we need,” said one commenter, who received more than 100 upvotes. “Not enough fire. The French are showing how to handle these showrooms,” another user chimed in, receiving 88 upvotes.
“I wholly believe violence is the answer,” said one user on the site’s “politics” subreddit in response to an anti-Musk post. “Politicians should always be somewhat afraid of their constituents acting out. This country is built on revolution, rights are earned in blood.” Similar comments can be found on a daily basis across a wide variety of the site’s communities.
Photo: Reddit and @reddit_lies via X
Photo: Reddit and @reddit_lies via X
Photo: Reddit and @reddit_lies via X
Photo: Reddit and @reddit_lies via X
President Trump responded to the increase in violent attacks and rhetoric at the White House on Tuesday by answering questions in front of a red Tesla vehicle alongside Musk. A reporter asked the president about the increase in attacks on Tesla dealers and asked whether a domestic terrorism designation could be in the cards, noting that there have been increased calls for that to happen.
“I will do that, I’ll do it. I’m going to stop them,” Trump declared.
“Those people are going to go through a big problem when we catch them. We’ve got a lot of cameras up, we already know who some of them are. We’re going to catch them. And they’re bad guys. They’re the same guys that screw around with our schools and universities, the same garbage,” the president added. “And, no, we’re going to catch them. And let me tell you, you do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you and you’re going to go through hell.”
Trump further noted that he would do the same for any American company that was being targeted by violent extremists. “If we catch anybody doing it, because they’re harming a great American company. I’ve stuck up for the NFL, I’ve stuck up for a lot of American companies and other companies, but American companies,” he said.
According to a report from local outlet WCSC, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is investigating the Molotov cocktail attack on a North Carolina Tesla charging station. Anyone with information is encouraged to submit a tip to the ATF via its website.
