Gizem Nisa Cebi
09 March 2025•Update: 09 March 2025
ISTANBUL
Nine protesters were arrested Saturday inside a Tesla showroom in New York City, according to police.
Video circulating online showed police dragging a demonstrator out of the facility in Manhattan, where a glass door appeared shattered. Protesters outside chanted, "We need clean air, not another billionaire!"
Five of those arrested received trespassing tickets, while a sixth was cited for resisting arrest and obstruction, said police.
The arrests come amid a surge of vandalism and protests targeting Tesla facilities nationwide, coinciding with Elon Musk’s deepening role in the US government under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Nationwide attacks
Lucy Grace Nelson, 40, allegedly launched a series of attacks on a Tesla dealership, including throwing Molotov cocktails at a parked Cybertruck and spray-painted "nazi cars" on the building in In Loveland, Colorado.
Police said she returned multiple times to cause further damage before her arrest last week. She has been charged with multiple felonies and released on a personal recognizance bond.
Similar incidents have been reported across the country. In Massachusetts, more than six Tesla charging stations near Boston were intentionally set on fire, police said Monday.
In Tigard, Oregon, authorities reported at least seven shots fired at a Tesla dealership last Thursday, damaging vehicles and shattering windows. No injuries have been reported.
Tesla’s decline
The wave of attacks comes as Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously known as the US Digital Service, where he has overseen deep reductions to the federal workforce.
His appointment has drawn praise and backlash, with some critics raising concerns about conflicts of interest given Musk’s ownership of Tesla, SpaceX, and X.
Musk responded to the vandalism on social media, stating: "Damaging the property of others, aka vandalism, is not free speech!"
Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran condemned the escalating violence, emphasizing that his department has not found a direct link between the attack in Colorado and other Tesla-related vandalism nationwide.
"This is absolutely not the way to make a statement," said Doran. "Putting people’s lives at risk is never the way to do this."
The disruptions come at a challenging time for Tesla as the company faces declining sales in key markets. Data show Tesla registrations in Europe fell 45% year-over-year in January, with similar declines in China.
Musk’s net worth has also dropped by more than $100 billion since mid-December, largely due to a sharp decline in Tesla’s stock price.
Columbia Business School professor Michael Morris, author of Tribal, suggested Musk’s political involvement may be hurting his businesses. "It would be a tragedy for the world if Elon Musk’s good work at Tesla and SpaceX got derailed by cultural blowback against his somewhat amateurish attempts to reform government," he said.
Despite the setbacks, Tesla facilities remain under threat. Late Friday, the Loveland dealership was again set on fire, police reported.
Authorities believe that the latest attack was carried out by a copycat suspect, unrelated to Nelson’s previous actions.
