Following the destruction of 17 of Elon Musk’s company’s electric vehicles in a fire in Rome, the Italian interior ministry has written to police forces nationwide requesting that they bolster security at Tesla stores.
Digos, Italy’s state police anti-terrorism section, is looking into whether anarchists were responsible for starting the fire at the Tesla showroom in the eastern neighbourhood of Torre Angela.
In the early hours of Monday, firefighters spent hours putting out the fire. Drone footage revealed a line of the cars’ burned-out remnants in a dealership parking lot. Musk called it “terrorism” on his social media site, X.
The main firm is in charge of all 13 of the Tesla dealerships in Italy, most of which are located in Rome but also in Florence and Milan.
The circular was intended to “raise awareness” of potential anti-Tesla demonstrators amid a global surge of vandalism in response to Musk’s political activities in the US, according to an interior ministry source. It stated that dealership surveillance would be stepped up if necessary.
Even while the majority of protests have been nonviolent thus far, vandalism against Tesla dealerships and vehicles has increased. Two Tesla showrooms in Sweden—one in the capital, Stockholm, and the other in the seaside city of Malmö—were vandalised with orange paint on Monday, while seven cars were set on fire at a dealership in Ottersberg, Germany, on Saturday.
Following the Rome incident, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, a component of Meloni’s ruling coalition, showed support for Musk.
Salvini tweeted on X, “Too much unwarranted hatred against the Tesla car company.” “As quickly as possible, the time of hatred and strife must cease. I stand with Elon Musk and all the workers who have been attacked and threatened.
Source: The Guardian
