What's Driving Attacks on Elon Musk and Tesla? 

In recent weeks, Tesla dealerships have experienced a surge in attacks, coinciding with CEO Elon Musk's increased role in the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.

The Details: There have been peaceful protests at Tesla dealerships and factories across the US, but there have also been several cases of vandalism to Tesla cars and dealerships. In some cases, hackers have released the names and addresses of Tesla owners. Musk said, “My companies make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone. So why the hate and violence against me?” He added, “It's really come as quite a shock to me, this violence from the left. I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they're burning down cars, and firing bullets into dealerships.” Musk and Tesla were once hailed by the left as one of the first companies to pioneer electric cars.

From the Right: A writer in ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) said that “the level of hate, misinformation, and knee-jerk negativity directed at him has gone far beyond reason,” dubbing it 'Musk Derangement Syndrome.' Gus Carlson (Lean Right) in The Globe and Mail (Center) called hate for Musk “hypocritical and childish” adding that voters gave President Donald Trump a mandate and that Musk is a part of the mandate. “Protesters should put away their Molotov cocktails, firearms and cans of spray paint and act like constructive members of a democracy,” he concluded. 

From the Left: A piece in The New Republic (Left) characterized Musk as “whining” and “playing the victim” adding that “the world’s richest man thinks it’s unfair that people aren’t as interested in his products due to his far-right political views.” It also referred to him as the “Sieg heil!–waving billionaire.”

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