Left-wing demonstrators shouting for boycotts of Tesla outside a dealership in Salt Lake City, Utah, were met with American flag-waving supporters of Elon Musk.
This clash over the electric car manufacturer comes as Tesla dealerships and owners have been the victims of vandalism in recent weeks. In one case, a suspect set a Tesla service center in Las Vegas, Nevada, ablaze using Molotov cocktails, damaging five vehicles. Attorney General Pam Bondi charged three people with allegedly vandalizing Teslas across the country, and all three face as many as 20 years in prison.
Friday’s clash of protesters did not result in any damages to Tesla vehicles. The two groups countering each other seemingly resulted in a non-violent demonstration.
“Everybody has a right to their own opinion; I don’t have a problem with it,” one pro-Tesla demonstrator named Jason Stembridge told Fox 13 Now. “I’m here to just support the company and keep the peace and make sure none of the Teslas get vandalized or damaged. It ain’t his business that’s causing the problems.”
Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) has discouraged the protests, suggesting those against Tesla were not “helping” their cause during a Thursday press conference.
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“If you want to lose the popular opinion, just start setting people’s vehicles on fire. It’s inexcusable, it’s stupid, and it’s evil. And we will arrest you,” Cox said.
Utah is among the slowest states to adopt electric vehicles, with nearly 40,000 EVs registered there. Meanwhile, California, where Tesla has its manufacturing plant, the sole electric plant in the state, has over 1.2 million registered EVs.