Graffiti on a Tesla dealership sign. Molotov cocktails thrown in another dealership’s lot. Tesla charging stations set on fire. Across the country, the electric vehicle company’s facilities and vehicles are being hit with protests and violence over Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration.
A wave of anti-Tesla protests and attacks have occurred as Musk, Tesla’s CEO, takes a leading role in President Trump’s cost-cutting task force, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The agency has cutthousandsof jobs since its inception in January.
People participate in a “Tesla Takedown” protest against Elon Musk outside a Tesla dealership in Pasadena, California, March 8, 2025.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
In recent days, there have been a number of peaceful “Tesla Takedown” protests across the U.S., but there have also been several violent incidents that led to arrests.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Tesla-related attacks happening across the country.
Reports of Tesla-involved violence and vandalism
Jan. 29 – Feb. 11: Police in northern Colorado arrested Lucy Grace Nelson after the 42-year-old allegedly caused between $5,000 and $20,000 in damage to a Tesla dealership starting on Jan. 29 and later returned several more times in February. According to police, Nelson vandalized the Tesla dealership by spray-painting “Nazi” under the dealership’s entrance sign and started small fires on the lot by igniting molotov cocktails inside vodka bottles. Nelson was charged with malicious destruction of property and remains in custody.
March 4: Police in Massachusetts reported seven Tesla charging stations that were intentionally set on fire.
March 6: A 39-year-old man was accused of vandalizing several Tesla vehicles with stickers of Musk in the Boston suburb of Brookline, calling it “free speech.” Harrison Grant Randall was charged with six counts of defacing property. A pre-trial hearing for Randall is scheduled for May, according to CBS News Boston. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea.
March 6: Police in Portland, Oregon, said that at least seven shots were fired at a Tesla dealership on Thursday, damaging three cars and shattering windows, according to CBS affiliate KOIN.
March 7: At the same Tesla dealership allegedly vandalized by Nelson, northern Colorado police reported an arson at the Loveland Tesla dealership.
March 8: Over 350 protesters gathered in New York City at a Tesla showroom in Manhattan as part of the nationwide “Tesla Takedown” protests. Six arrests were made, five for disorderly conduct and one for resisting arrest, obstructing government administration and a violation for a local law.
BREAKING: HUNDREDS of New Yorkers have swarmed and shut down the Tesla dealer in Manhattan. Six have been arrested after occupying the showroom. Protests are erupting across America to reject Musk's billionaire regime. This is how we beat fascism.
