MORE than a dozen Tesla cars have been destroyed by a massive inferno at one of Elon Musk's top dealerships in Italy.
A slew of Tesla attacks plaguing dealerships in the US have now swept to Europe after suspected arsonists set 17 Teslas ablaze in Rome.
Shocking pictures show the aftermath of the devastating blaze that completely destroyed at least 17 Tesla cars.
A column of charred vehicles can be seen in what appears to be the parking lot of the dealership.
Rome’s fire service said it was looking into “all avenues” and was investigating the cause of fire – but it did not rule out arson.
Tesla cars have become targets of vandalism across several countries in response to the right-wing activism of company owner Elon Musk.
Two weeks ago, at least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in a “targeted attack,” with two of the cars burnt to rubble and others shot at with guns, authorities said.
Cops found the cars at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas, with the word ‘Resist' spray-painted in capital letters on the facility's doors.
Just last week, multiple incendiary devices were found at a Tesla dealership in Austin, Texas, according to police.
The Austin Police Department's bomb squad unit was deployed to the dealership, where they determined the devices were incendiary.
Incendiary devices are weapons or munitions designed to set fire to objects or cause burns, according to the United Nations‘ Office for Disarmament Affairs.
Authorities collected the devices without incident.
Thr suspected arson attacks first reached Europe when four Tesla cars were set ablaze in the Plänterwald and Steglitz areas of Berlin, Germany.
The country has seen a number of anti-Musk protests following his endorsement of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in the runup to February's general election.
Most of these have targeted Tesla factories and have included projecting an image of Musk making a controversial salute to Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin in January.
The display was put up alongside the words “Heil Tesla”.
Most recently, an overnight incident in Tigard, Oregon, saw “more than a dozen” shots fired at a Tesla dealership, reports ABC News.
Three Teslas were vandalized in Dedham, Massachusetts, including “words spray-painted” onto two Cybertrucks.
All four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S were “reportedly damaged”, according to Dedham Police Department.
That very same day, President Trump and Musk were seen outside the White House alongside a number of Teslas.
TESLA TASK FORCE
The FBI has now launched a special task force to investigate the rising wave of attacks against Tesla cars.
FBI head Kash Patel said on X: “The FBI has been investigating the increase in violent activity toward Tesla, and over the last few days, we have taken additional steps to crack down and coordinate our response.
“This is domestic terrorism.
“Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice.”;
Musk addressed worried employees last Thursday.
He said: “If you read the news, it feels like, you know, Armageddon.”;
The boss added that anyone burning Tesla vehicles was “psycho”; and should “stop being psycho!”;
Furious Donald Trump called out the attacks and defended Tesla, saying that anyone convicted of such crimes could serve their sentence in El Salvadorian prisons.
The Central American nation is infamous for its treatment of inmates in sprawling mega prisons.
A US protest group known as Tesla Takedown called for demonstrations on Saturday, March 29, outside of the nearly 300 Tesla showrooms in the country.
A spokesperson for the group told CNBC, “The US government has a long history of conflating peaceful protest with violence.
“The #TeslaTakedown movement has been & always will be nonviolent.
“They want to scare us away from protesting Musk’s destruction — but standing up for free speech is essential to democracy.”
