The Tesla brand has been marred by an act of hate, as a video released by the NYPD shows two individuals carving a swastika and the word "Nazis" into the side of a Tesla Cybertruck in Brooklyn; a gesture that's indicative of a mounting hostility directed at Tesla vehicles in New York City and New Jersey, incidents that are now being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and have been classed as "domestic terrorism" by the FBI, according to ABC7 New York.
These manifestations of hatred have not been isolated, with additional reports of a Cybertruck sporting a red swastika on Manhattan's Lower East Side earlier this month, and the semblance of danger escalates as the FBI has warned of potential attacks against Tesla dealerships or affiliated entities, this comes in the wake of Elon Musk's contentious appointment to Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, a period which has seen a notable rise in attacks against the electric car company, mobs animosity toward Tesla becoming palpable as they have resorted to defacing personal property, setting vehicles on fire, and charging stations being torched, reported by The New York Post.
These recent events in Brooklyn's Monroe Street saw the malefactors flee after their act, adding to an anxiety that electric vehicle ownership in the area may mark one as a target for such virulent attacks, "I feel myself burning inside," Ben Hamo, a Jewish owner of a vandalized Tesla, conveyed his distress in an interview with The New York Post after finding his vehicle defaced with a swastika in broad daylight.
Elon Musk himself has remarked on the surge of violence, emphatically defending his company, and asserting, "I think a great wrong is being done to the people of Tesla and to our customers," he told Fox News "Special Report," articulating that Tesla has not caused harm, yet his company and customers are the ones who bear the brunt of this aggression and as these acts of vandalism become more frequent, Musk's sentiment echoes the concerns of many who find themselves intertwined with the Teslas name, according to commentary Musk gave to The New York Post.
