More than a dozen Tesla cars burned down in a store in Toulouse, France. It is suspected that it was an intentional arson attack amid global protests against Tesla and Elon Musk.
So, at night, a fire broke out at the Tesla sales and service center in Pleasance-du-Touche near Toulouse. Firefighters arrived at the scene around 4 am and localized the fire, limiting it to cars. Eight of them were completely destroyed and four were heavily damaged. The damage is estimated at over €700 thousand.
According to local news reports, police suspect arson, as a hole was found in the fence and threats have been made over the past few weeks. The Tesla Center was closed throughout the day.
Tesla is currently being protested by anti-fascist groups around the world, especially in the United States, where many are targeting Tesla to protest Elon Musk’s involvement in the US government.
Several protests were also planned in France, but some extremist groups are calling for massive arson attacks on Tesla stores. Relevant articles have step-by-step instructions on how to set fire to Tesla stores without getting caught by law enforcement. The manifesto explains that the initiators are targeting Tesla as a «symbol of capitalism», although they also list a dozen other reasons, including the fact that they consider such a move «feasible and cheap».
It is worth noting that while arson and subsequent fire may look spectacular, it is not effective in the fight against Tesla and Musk. For now Tesla faces sales problemsespecially in Europe. Protesters burn unsold car inventory, for which the company is likely to receive an insurance claim. Of course, this disrupts their operations for a short period of time, but it is not worth it given the danger of the fire spreading.
Interestingly, the manifesto says that violence should be avoided and that cars owned by individuals should not be targeted. However, it seems that this is not too strict a rule for those who have decided to take revenge on Elon Musk by any means necessary.
Source: electrek
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: