Tesla Terrorism Persists – With Democratic Backing
The ominous threat of political violence is continuously anticipated from the right, while it appears to be manifesting predominantly within the left.
Here we go again: There’s a disturbing campaign of violence directed at Tesla to express discontent with Elon Musk’s political views.
Democrats don’t seem to be taking any decisive action to put a stop to it.
Recently in Las Vegas, five vehicles at a Tesla service center were set ablaze and shot at.
In Texas, authorities discovered “multiple incendiary devices” at a Tesla dealership in north Austin, with other explosives found in San Antonio, prompting the FBI to send in specialized teams.
The Justice Department has initiated a task force to tackle this issue and has already filed charges against a man in Salem, Ore., “armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle,” who “was taken into custody after throwing about eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership,” alongside a woman detained in Loveland, Col. for attempting to ignite Teslas, and a man in Charleston, SC, who “scrawled crude messages against President Trump at Tesla charging stations before igniting them with Molotov cocktails.”
The violence has reached beyond borders, with 80 Tesla vehicles damaged during an assault in Hamilton, Ontario. The list appears to grow continuously.
Terrorism is defined as the use of violence to achieve political objectives. When government officials and political figures alter their behavior out of fear of violence, that’s when terrorism achieves its aims.
By any criterion, this exemplifies terrorism.
The goal appears to be to compel Musk to cease his support for Donald Trump, dismantle his Department of Government Efficiency, alter his proposals for reducing government, withdraw his donations to Republicans, or otherwise retreat from public discourse.
As the campaign of bomb threats and attacks on vehicles with combustible batteries continues, it is only a matter of time before a tragic incident occurs.
When that day arrives, Democrats may find themselves regretting their inaction in disavowing such violence.
Currently, they are doing little in that regard.
Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett declared during a “Tesla Takedown” digital rally, “All I want for my birthday is to see Elon taken down.”
As the violence negatively impacts Tesla sales and the company’s stock tumbles, Crockett asserts, “the only language that those in power comprehend right now is money.”
Crockett insists her protest is meant to be “peaceful.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz admitted to an audience that the declining stock price was a source of joy: “I added Tesla to my stock app for a little daily boost — $225 and still dropping.”
He even suggested vandalizing one’s own Tesla: “You can take dental floss and remove the Tesla emblem.”
Walz later had to apologize after realizing that Minnesota’s public employee pension fund had significant investments in Tesla stock.
Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project wrote a piece titled, “Kill Tesla, Save the Country,” branding the company as “a bank for fascists.”
Jimmy Kimmel made a joke of it: “Don’t ever vandalize Tesla vehicles,” he quipped, winking at the camera while the audience erupted in laughter.
Many other notable Democrats have remained silent, seeing nothing that warrants condemnation.
This is simply unacceptable.
Politicians aren’t accountable when a lone individual goes too far. However, this represents a sustained campaign of violence, employing familiar tactics with a shared target for a collective aim.
Instead of calling for calm, far too many Democrats are passively allowing this to unfold while their party’s most aggressive members fan the flames.
Even the noblest causes require leaders to delineate where the line is drawn.
Abraham Lincoln and other anti-slavery Republicans denounced John Brown. Pro-life advocates have persistently condemned violence against abortion providers, particularly popular three decades ago.
Yet the very individuals who advocated for the George Floyd rioters, those who incited mobs and assassination threats against Supreme Court justices, the same faction that has allowed pro-Hamas terrorism to thrive on campuses, and the same party whose socialist wing lauds Luigi Mangione for killing a healthcare CEO?
They cannot claim moral superiority.
Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review. Twitter: @BaseballCrank
