April 2025. Blues Vol 41 No.4

AROUND THE

AROUND THE COUNTRYSEATTLE, WA.Attorney General Pam Bondi launches an investigation intoTesla-related crimes, vowing to uncover funding sources andhold those responsible accountable.By Jonathan J. Cooper, GeneJohnson, Associated PressSEATTLE, WA. — Attacks onproperty carrying the logo ofElon Musk’s electric-car companyare cropping up across the U.S.and overseas. While no injurieshave been reported, Tesla showrooms,vehicle lots, chargingstations and privately owned carshave been targeted.There’s been a clear upticksince President Donald Trumptook office and empowered Muskto oversee a new Departmentof Government Efficiency that’sslashing government spending.Experts on domestic extremismsay it’s impossible to know yet ifthe spate of incidents will ballooninto a long-term pattern.In Trump’s first term, his propertiesin New York, Washingtonand elsewhere became a naturalplace for protest. In the earlydays of his second term, Tesla isfilling that role.“Tesla is an easy target,” saidRandy Blazak, a sociologistwho studies political violence.“They’re rolling down our streets.50 The BLUES - APRIL ‘25They have dealerships in ourneighborhoods.”Musk critics have organizeddozens of peaceful demonstrationsat Tesla dealerships andfactories across North Americaand Europe. Some Tesla owners,including a U.S. senator whofeuded with Musk, have vowed tosell their vehicles.But the attacks are keeping lawenforcement busy.Prosecutors in Coloradocharged a woman last month inconnection with attacks on Tesladealerships, including Molotovcocktails thrown at vehiclesand the words “Nazi cars”spray-painted on a building.And federal agents in SouthCarolina last week arrested aman they say set fire to Teslacharging stations near Charleston.An agent from the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms and Explosiveswrote in an affidavit thatauthorities found writings criticalof the government and DOGE inhis bedroom and wallet.“The statement made mentionof sending a message based onthese beliefs,” the agent wrote.Some of the most prominentincidents have been reported inleft-leaning cities in the PacificNorthwest, like Portland, Oregon,and Seattle, where anti-Trumpand anti-Musk sentiment runs

high.An Oregon man faces chargesafter allegedly throwing severalMolotov cocktails at a Tesla storein Salem, then returning anotherday and shooting out windows.In the Portland suburb of Tigard,more than a dozen bullets werefired at a Tesla showroom lastweek, damaging vehicles andwindows, the second time in aweek that the store was targeted.Four Cybertrucks were set onfire in a Tesla lot in Seattle earlierthis month. On Friday, witnessesreported a man poured gasolineon an unoccupied Tesla ModelS and started a fire on a Seattlestreet.In Las Vegas, several Tesla vehicleswere set ablaze early Tuesdayoutside a Tesla service centerwhere the word “resist” was alsopainted in red across the building’sfront doors. Authorities saidat least one person threw Molotovcocktails — crude bombs filledwith gasoline or another flammableliquid — and fired severalrounds from a weapon into thevehicles.“Was this terrorism? Was itsomething else? It certainly hassome of the hallmarks that wemight think — the writing on thewall, potential political agenda,an act of violence,” SpencerEvans, the special agent in chargeof the Las Vegas FBI office, saidat a news conference. “None ofthose factors are lost on us.”TESLA BECOMES A TARGETFOR THE LEFTTesla was once the darling ofthe left. Helped to viability by a5 million federal loan duringthe Obama administration, thecompany popularized electricvehicles and proved, despite theirearly reputation, that they didn’thave to be small, stodgy, underpoweredand limited in range.More recently, though, Muskhas allied himself with the right.He bought the social networkTwitter, renamed it X and erasedrestrictions that had infuriatedconservatives. He spent an estimated0 million to boostTrump’s 2024 Republican campaign,becoming by far his biggestbenefactor.Musk continues to run Tesla —as well as X and the rocket manufacturerSpaceX — while alsoserving as Trump’s adviser.Trump gave a boost to thecompany when he turned theWhite House driveway into anelectric-vehicle showroom. Hepromoted the vehicles and saidhe would purchase an ,000Model S, eschewing his fiercepast criticism of electric vehicles.Tesla didn’t respond to a requestfor comment. Musk brieflyaddressed the vandalism Mondayduring an appearance on Sen. TedCruz’s podcast, saying “at leastsome of it is organized and paidfor” by “left-wing organizationsin America, funded by left-wingbillionaires, essentially.”“This level of violence is insaneand deeply wrong,” Musk wroteTuesday on X, sharing a videoof burning Teslas in Las Vegas.“Tesla just makes electric carsand has done nothing to deservethese evil attacks.”The BLUES - APRIL ‘25 51