It’s a disturbing trend that strikes fear into the heart of any Tesla owner: returning to your beloved vehicle and discovering that someone has marked a key into its sleek bodywork.
A series of vandalism incidents involving electric vehicles designed by Elon Musk have made headlines across Australia in recent months for one simple reason: the unwitting culprits have been caught red-handed.
Tesla cars are equipped with a “sentinel mode” system, which uses built-in cameras and sensors to record any suspicious activity around the car.
And yet people persist in attacking them – the latest incident involving a stranger slashing the tire of a Tesla in a car park in Gympie, Queensland, just this week.
So what motivates someone to damage a $100,000+ electric car?
It’s a disturbing trend that strikes fear into the heart of any Tesla owner: returning to your beloved vehicle and discovering that someone has marked a key into its sleek bodywork.
A series of vandalism incidents involving electric vehicles designed by Elon Musk have made headlines across Australia in recent months for one simple reason: the unwitting culprits have been caught in the act.
A leading motorsports expert has suggested that the culprits are largely motivated by jealousy, a sense of feeling threatened and an irrational hatred of billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk.
James Ward, chief content officer of car websiteHe said that, a bit like its owner, Tesla was the most polarizing car brand in the country.
“People have this really strange love-hate relationship with the brand,” Ward told Daily Mail Australia.
‘You see almost this cult-like behavior from these die-hard fans who won’t hear a bad word about it.
“But then there are others who feel a bit threatened and think: ‘They’re not going to take away my diesel ute or my Commodore V8’, or whatever.”
But Ward said the vandalism wasn’t necessarily driven by an aversion to electric cars, stating that while there were some “pretty flashy-looking electric BMWs and Mercedes,” he had only heard of people keying in Teslas.
He compared owning a Tesla to the early days of Apple MacBook computers, when many people believed you used an “Apple Mac or you were nothing,” creating a feeling of inferiority in those less fortunate.
“No other brand on the market is as polarizing as Tesla, and I think a lot of that is due to the Elon Musk factor, since he’s a very opinionated, very right-leaning personality,” Ward said.
‘But there are also Tesla drivers and cultists who sort of perpetuate this.
‘I can see how all this would make people feel alienated or like, ‘I need to show you that you’re not that good.’ That kind of thing.’
As a result, Ward said many people saw “Musk’s cars as a target.”
James Ward (pictured), content director at car website Drive, said that, somewhat like its owner, Tesla was the most polarizing car brand in the country.
A leading motorsports expert has suggested that the culprits are largely motivated by jealousy, a sense of feeling threatened and an irrational hatred of billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk.
“It’s the idea that you’re scratching a Tesla because you don’t like Elon Musk through some kind of strange psychological association,” he added.
Beyond that, Ward said people are often provoked by resentment and jealousy.
“There’s definitely an element of jealousy there and you used to see that if you had a Mazda and a Mercedes parked next to each other, the Mercedes would get caught, not the Mazda,” he said.
“Especially when times are a little tough, people think, ‘You’re not going to flaunt your wealth in front of me.’ I’ll show you.”
The car enthusiast had some advice for anyone thinking about starting a Tesla: “Think twice.”
‘Teslas have cameras that work all the time. You’re an idiot if you lock a Tesla,” he said.
And he noted that the impact is not only felt by the victim and the guilty when they are inevitably caught.
“If you’re ruining one car, you’re ruining it for everyone, because you’re just raising insurance costs for all of us, regardless of what car you drive,” he said.
In January, Daily Mail Australia tracked down an elderly couple who had been convicted of tampering with a Tesla.
Raymond Edwards, 70, and his wife Barbara were caught intentionally damaging a car at the Brookside shopping center in Brisbane’s inner north last October.
After being ordered to pay more than $3,000 in repairs, Mr. Edwards admitted in this post that he and his wife had let their frustration get the better of them.
Ward had some advice for anyone considering starting a Tesla: “Think twice.” ‘Teslas have cameras that work all the time. “You’re an idiot if you lock a Tesla,” he said.
He claimed that a white Tesla and a white BMW had “cut them off” while driving and almost forced them to crash into a power pole, about half a mile from the shops.
“I regret our actions, but the point is that civility has been thrown out the window and stupidity has been thrown out the window,” Mr Edwards said.
He also stated that he had never owned an electric vehicle and would “stand there and applaud” if he ever saw a Tesla on fire on the side of the road.