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Campaigners against Elon Musk are inviting Londoners to smash up a Tesla in the latest of a series of protests and artistic stunts against the Trump-supporting billionaire that are spreading across the UK.
Titled ‘London vs Musk’, the art piece is to be put on by Everyone Hates Elon, the group behind satirical posters referring to Teslas as “Swasticars” which have appeared across London.
The event is billed as an opportunity for “Londoners to safely and legally smash up a Tesla to vent their rage at Elon Musk, the far-right and billionaires”, will see a second-hand Tesla which was set to be scrapped, smashed and auctioned to raise money for foodbanks this Saturday.
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“There are more billionaires than ever before and there are more food banks than ever before. These things are obviously connected,” said an Everyone Hates Elon spokesperson.
Tesla owners who feel betrayed by Musk’s recent actions will be given priority access to smash the Tesla, the group said.
The Tesla brand has suffered considerable damage since Musk joined Trump’s administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla stock has fallen by 38% since 02 January of this year.
According to the Financial Times, Tesla has just experienced its worst quarter since 2022. The company delivered 336,681 vehicles between January and March, this is 13 per cent fewer than a year earlier and well below the 390,000 expected by analysts.
Other actions as part of the recent wave of anti-Tesla protests have included Just Stop Oil vandalising a Tesla robot by pouring liquid latex over it and an international day of action in which protesters picketed Tesla showrooms in London, Berlin, Paris and several US cities.
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Vandalism of Teslas in the USA led Trump to refer to those attacking the cars as “domestic terrorists” and the FBI, led by Trump acolyte Dan Bongino has convened a taskforce to deal with threats against Tesla.
The spokesperson for Everybody Hates Elon stated “This is a one-of-a-kind art piece using a Tesla that was already destined for scrap. We strongly urge everyone not to damage or vandalise any other vehicles. London vs Musk has proper safety measures in place. We absolutely do not condone damage to any other vehicles. We urge the public not to damage ANY other Teslas in any other location – you would face serious legal consequences.”
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They added that they would like for the stunt to get Musk’s attention saying “Elon Musk was on TV the other day crying about how people are being mean to his companies. The word he used was ‘suffering’, I don’t think he knows what suffering feels likes to be honest. So it would be good to see more of him realising the consequences of his actions”.