Seven Tesla charging stations have been deliberately set on hearth on Monday at a shopping mall outdoors Boston, the police stated, the most recent in a sequence of assaults in opposition to the electrical automobile firm since its proprietor, Elon Musk, constructed a deep partnership with President Trump.
The charging stations have been set on hearth round 1:10 a.m. at a shopping mall in Littleton, Mass., about 30 miles outdoors of Boston, in keeping with a news release from the Littleton Police Division.
The police stated they advised the Littleton Electrical Gentle & Water Division to close down the facility to the charging stations as “heavy, darkish smoke” engulfed a number of of them. Earlier than the electrical firm may reply, one other charging station caught hearth.
There have been 12 charging stations on the web site, in keeping with a Tesla map.
Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Tuesday.
Tesla showrooms and dealerships throughout the nation have been focused with protests and vandalism since Mr. Trump grew to become president and selected Mr. Musk to accelerate his agenda.
The protests have mirrored to Mr. Musk and his current political strikes, together with his radical takeover of the federal bureaucracy and his efforts to chop federal jobs.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors charged a Colorado resident with malicious destruction of property, accusing her of spray portray the phrase “Nazi” onto the facet of a Tesla dealership and planting an incendiary system close to a automobile, in keeping with a news release from the U.S. lawyer in Colorado.
Some automobile house owners are actually selling their Teslas to distance themselves from the billionaire chief govt.
Nonetheless, Teslas are by far the most well-liked electrical autos in america, and a few automobile house owners have stated on Fb teams that they’ve purchased one to indicate their assist for Mr. Musk.