Just what did Tesla do to YOU?

One of the more shocking videos shared on social media last week was a clip from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which showed a montage of Teslas and Tesla dealerships, and charging stations, being firebombed.

The studio audience laughed, whooped, and cheered. Host Jordan Klepper actually called them out for cheering “petty acts of domestic terrorism.”

I disagree. 

These were not “petty” acts. They were felonies.

In recent weeks, scores of violent attacks including gun shots have been reported, as well as lesser vandalism such as spraying Teslas with the words “Nazi car.” 

The Daily Show audience is mostly young, and by their attitude stupid, but what explains their affection for criminal behavior? Is there some kind of weird vigilante vibe among the young? Is it Radical Privilege?

It is the same attitude, coming from largely the same group, that cheered Luigi Mangione, the back shooter who allegedly murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York City street.

There’s so much to unpack here.

Those cheering these crimes share two traits.

One, they have selected a villain to be a symbol of their grievances. In one case it is Tesla, itself a symbol of Elon Musk, the swashbuckling head of DOGE, the Department Of Government Efficiency. In the second case, it was Thompson as a representative of the health insurance industry.

Two, they are primarily young. “The “Daily Show” audience traditionally skews young, with the core audience being in their 20s and 30s. And they are left of center.

Agree so far?

Yet, at the same time, Donald J. Trump won more voters under 30 than any Republican since 2008. 

There is a growing divide among “the young” — Anarchists vs MAGA — which deserves its own column. It’s not where this one is going.

Among the Left, and some others, Musk, the world’s richest man, has come to represent evil incarnate.

So, if Musk = Evil, and Musk owns Tesla, then Tesla = Evil, and everything is on the table when confronting evil. I hope I am representing them fairly.

Let’s say you agree with that notion.

Then you would agree that bombing abortion centers and killing abortion providers is justifiable, too. Because your motives were pure.

Sorry. Both are wrong, criminal, and should be prosecuted.

We are a nation governed by law. There is no justification for criminal violence, no matter how fervently you oppose current laws and elected officials.

About Tesla, there’s another angle.

In terms of Tesla owners, Democrats (38%) outnumber Republicans (30%). Environmental activists once lionized forward-thinking Tesla because it produced no pollutants.

When Leftists damage Tesla cars, they are more likely to be hurting a Democrat than a Republican. Call that irony, but it gets worse. 

I was talking about the car. How about the company?

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz bragged that he set a stock-tracking app on his phone to Tesla, so he could gleefully watch the stock fall. The stock was 225 on Tuesday, when he said that. (It closed at 248  Friday. The all-time high was 479 in December 2024.)

Walz said the decline gave him “a little boost” during the day.

Then it was revealed that Minnesota, the state he governs, owns 1.8 million shares of Tesla stock. When it does poorly, Minnesota loses money. 

Does that give Tampon Tim a boost? Did the car hurt his butt? Does he chortle knowing the citizens of his state get hurt when Tesla declines?

See? That’s where unbridled hate gets you.

Tesla employs 125,000 Americans. 

The stock drop is the result of people taking their grievances against Musk — whom I regard as a man child autistic savant — out  on his company, which produces America’s most popular electric cars. (Yes, I know popular electric cars is a low bar.)

Shall we boycott Starlink, the satellite internet constellation, because Musk owns it? Yes?

OK. Boycott. That’s legal. But do not burn, do not damage, do not destroy. Arson crosses a red line.

Here’s another: The Musk (anti)social justice warriors have doxed Tesla owners, producing a map of where they are, including home addresses and personal information. That ought to be illegal. 

It is a terror tactic. I am fine with Molotov cocktail tossers being charged as domestic terrorists.

No matter how pure you may think your motives, yielding to the seduction of  violence puts you on the wrong side.