La Depeche, Tesla store, Toulouse

A dozen Tesla vehicles burned at a store in Toulouse, France. Arson is suspected amid global protests and vandalism attacks against Tesla and Elon Musk.

Last night, a dozen Tesla vehicles burned down at Tesla’s retail and service location in Plaisance-du-Touch near Toulouse, France.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at around 4 a.m. and contained the fire to the vehicles. Eight of them were completely destroyed, and four were greatly damaged. The damages are estimated at over 700,000 euros.

According to the local news (translated from French), the police suspected arson as a hole was found in a fence, and threats had been made over the last few weeks. The Tesla location remained closed all day.

Tesla is currently being protested by anti-fascist groups around the world, especially in the US, where many are targeting Tesla to protest against Elon Musk’s involvement in the US government.

In France, there were a few protests planned, but some extremist groups are calling for widespread arson against Tesla stores:

I won’t share the link to the article since it gives step-by-step instructions on how to burn down Tesla stores without getting caught, but the manifesto explains that they are going after Tesla as a “symbol of capitalism,” although they also list a dozen other reasons including the fact that they think it’s “doable and cheap.”

Electrek’s Take

This is getting nuts. It’s not only dangerous, but it’s also not super effective in achieving the goal they claim to want to achieve.

Have they never heard of insurance? Tesla is having issues selling cars right now. You are burning unsold inventory that they can then claim to their insurance.

Sure, it disrupts their operations for a short period of time, but it’s not worth it.

Their manifesto does say to avoid violence and not to target vehicles owned by individuals – though it doesn’t sound like a strict rule for them, but I think these people are likely going to end up in jail for having achieved nothing.

The protests and boycotts are going strong. You don’t need to burn cars to make yourself heard.