After their car was vandalized in the early hours of the morning, a Canadian Tesla Model 3 owner shared footage of the attack on Reddit.
The 30-second clip shows a person throwing a large rock at the car twice, triggering its alarm. The act prompted several comments about the motivation behind the crime, and many speculated it was outrage over the brand's owner.
"Unfortunately with [Elon Musk's] recent actions I feel like this will become more common," said one commenter. Another added: "Sorry. People suck."
A third wrote: "That seemed very deliberate."
Relations between the United States and Canada are nearing historic lows due to tariffs and inflammatory comments about Canada's sovereignty. An overwhelming majority of Canadians reject the Trump administration's overtures to make Canada the 51st state, and Musk's prominent role in the administration has prompted a fierce backlash from Canadians and Europeans.Â
While plummeting Tesla sales and EVs in Canada are heavily linked to the ending of federal rebates in the country, per the National Post, the Musk-backed company has lost almost half of its market value in recent weeks, as analysts at J.P. Morgan told Business Insider: "We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly."
However, the widespread adoption of EVs has been hindered by theft and vandalism long before Musk got more involved in American politics.Â
This is especially unfortunate because there are considerable advantages, both environmental and financial, to making the switch to an EV. Though the manufacturing process involves slightly more pollution because of the battery, over its lifetime, an EV will emit far less than a gas-powered car. The process of mining lithium is also less polluting than extracting dirty fuels.Â
While the purchase price of an EV might also be slightly higher (incentives can bring that down), they're much cheaper to own and run in the long run. Ultimately, regardless of motive of the vandal, targeting someone's personal property only harms the victim.
As one of the commenters pointed out, the brand's owner won't actually suffer from the damage caused: "Vandalizing an average person's car doesn't make a difference to Elon."
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