About 17 cars were burned to the frame at a dealership outside Rome, Italy in the latest global attack on Tesla.
A Tesla dealership outside Rome was engulfed in a massive fire earlier this week, with at least 17 cars destroyed and the warehouse where they were parked suffering significant damage.
So far, local police have not arrested any suspects nor named a potential motive behind the incident. According to Italian media reports, investigators are working on several theories, including arson.
However, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk condemned the incident as a “terrorist” attack, linking it to the ongoing protests and violent attacks on his car company’s facilities and personal vehicles. While the wave of anti-Tesla violence was initially limited to the United States, it has now spread globally.
A Tesla dealership was also vandalized in Berlin on March 31, when activists from the environmental group Neue Generation spray-painted the entrance to the facility. Another German Tesla dealership, in the northern city of Verden, made headlines last weekend when seven cars were set on fire there. The investigation into the fire is ongoing, and local authorities have refrained from speculating about the cause of the fire.
Last week, the FBI created a task force to address the growing number of violent incidents involving Tesla. In the US, the string of attacks, including vandalism and arson, has officially been classified as “domestic terrorism,” FBI Director Kash Patel warned, vowing to punish those behind the incidents.
“The FBI has been investigating the increase in violent activity targeting Tesla and over the past few days we have taken additional steps to suppress and coordinate our response,” Patel wrote in a post on X. “This is domestic terrorism. Those responsible will be pursued, arrested, and brought to justice.”
No stranger to controversy, Musk has become an increasingly divisive figure in recent years due to his close relationship with US President Donald Trump and his work as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency tasked with cutting US government spending.
Dozens of Tesla-related locations have been affected by protests since January, with Musk suggesting the campaign may be a coordinated effort funded by major Democratic donors, including the mysterious billionaire George Soros.
President Trump has condemned the attacks, proposed harsh punishments, even threatening to send those convicted to the notorious prison in El Salvador to serve up to 20 years.
