BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) — A nationwide trend of protests against Elon Musk’s company is now being seen in the Tampa Bay area.
Three Teslas were vandalized earlier this month outside a shopping plaza in Bradenton and the person who did it is still on the run. A Tesla owner told 8 On Your Side it’s made him think twice about where he parks.
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“I am mindful about where I take it and where I go,” Tesla driver Russell Blackburn said.
Police said the suspect was caught on surveillance video keying several Teslas in the parking lot of Pinebrook Commons in Bradenton. “Two of the Tesla owners, father and son, they were just there enjoying dinner. And then there was a third Tesla owner who was, you know, shopping or doing something within that plaza,” said Bradenton Police Department Public Information Officer Meredith Censullo. Police said the suspect caused more than $7,000 in damage to the vehicles. He then took off in a dark colored chevy SUV. “It would certainly appear like these cars were chosen because they were Tesla vehicles. At the end of the day, though, it is completely unacceptable to damage anyone’s car,” Censullo said. With protests aimed at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk playing out nationwide, some drivers wonder if they’re becoming targets. “It has been on my brain, you know, going out to public places. So when I go out with people, I ask them, ‘Do you mind driving?’ Because I don’t want to leave my car unattended,” Blackburn said. And police said that kind of fear is exactly why they are pushing to identify the suspect. “Because he caused a considerable amount of damage to three innocent victims who were just minding their own business,” Censullo said. What happened here, the FBI said, lines up with what is happening across nine states. The FBI sent out a nationwide alert warning of rising threats and vandalism targeting Tesla cars…