Latest news with #Hummers
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
My Tesla FSD diary: 5 months of curiosity, amazement, shock, and embarrassment
When I picked up my new Tesla Model 3 Performance in December, it came with a free trial of the company's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. I originally made the purchase to enjoy driving a fast sports car. But I've also been fascinated by the promise of autonomous vehicles ever since I experienced Google's early driverless technology as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal over a decade ago. So, for the past five months, I've been using FSD (in "Chill" mode only) to see what it can and can't do. I still drive the car. Legally, functionally, and by necessity. Tesla calls this software Full Self-Driving, but it's really an advanced driver-assistance system. Every moment it's engaged, I am still the driver, and Tesla makes that very clear when you're in the car in FSD mode. The company is planning to launch a robotaxi service in Austin in June. That will come with fully autonomous software that requires no supervision. However, the reason for this diary is to give you a sense of what Tesla's latest and greatest published driving software is capable of right now. Here are my observations, feelings, and takeaways from driving more than 1,000 miles in FSD around Silicon Valley and beyond. I also shared this diary with Bryant Walker Smith, a lawyer who focuses on mobility, driver-assistance, and autonomous-vehicle technology. I've included some of his context and thoughts throughout. I also shared my diary with Tesla's press office and CEO Elon Musk via email on Wednesday. They didn't respond. More relaxing, especially in traffic Let's get this out of the way first: This is one of the best cars I've ever driven. On and off for over 20 years, I have test-driven cars from Hummers to Porsches to Alfa Romeos. The Model 3 Performance has incredible steering, high build quality, and incredible speed, for a lot less money than a BMW M4. It's a great deal and I love it. In early January, switching on FSD was a surprise at first. It handled way more situations than I expected — basically everything on most trips. Driving in traffic, with a destination punched into Tesla's onboard screen, is less stressful than handling stop-and-go congestion yourself and trying to decide which turn to take next. It's a new, slightly more relaxing experience. I get to my destination in a better mood. Tesla FSD always comes to a full stop at stop signs. Obviously, I do too. But maybe I don't? This was annoying at first, but now I don't notice, and it's safer. I thought I would lose time, but really, there's no difference. What started as an irritation became a reminder of how easily humans normalize cutting corners when driving themselves. The FSD is a more efficient driver. It uses less battery power than I do driving the car. I know this because I look at the onboard map, which predicts the battery level upon arrival. Once I switch to FSD, that prediction drops and stays lower once I arrive. Potholes and disengagements Pothole avoidance, please! My Tesla in FSD drives straight over most potholes on the road. I try to (carefully!) avoid them while driving myself. Is this why some Tesla owners say they have to replace their tires so often? I disengaged FSD in San Francisco a few months ago. There was a car parked on the side of a thin side road. I knew I could squeeze around it, but Tesla FSD just sat there. So I took over, drove around, and then restarted FSD. I disengaged another time on Highway 80, going from Silicon Valley to Lake Tahoe with my wife. We were in FSD (Chill mode) in the slow lane. Traffic built up ahead, and the faster lanes started backing up. Another car darted into our lane, right in front of us. We screamed, and I grabbed the wheel. Maybe FSD would have handled it, but I wasn't willing to find out. Speaking of lanes: In Chill mode, FSD stays in the slow lane, and it's slow to move across when a highway intersection is approaching. This gets me stuck behind cars merging onto the highway. When I drive myself, I get over into the outside lanes before this stuff happens. I know a few blocks in advance that something is going to get snarled, so I adjust early. Tesla FSD doesn't do that in Chill mode. So, we have to slow down and get into complex merge situations. I suspect being in other FSD modes, such as "Hurry" mode, would mean my Tesla drives in the faster, outer lanes of the highway. A test and a change of heart I was impressed during the first two to three months of using FSD. When my free trial ended in June, I thought I would probably start paying $99 a month for this technology. And I don't even drive that much. I bought this car to drive a fast sports car. Now, I barely drive it. That paragraph above was the thrust of the story I planned to write earlier this year. Then, my colleague Lloyd Lee and I tested Tesla FSD against Waymo in San Francisco on May 1. You can read all about that here. TLDR: We ran a red light while in my Tesla's FSD mode. Waymo refused to go that specific route, suggesting that Waymo's software system can't handle that specific intersection either. However, I was shocked by the experience. Walker Smith says there's "a huge difference between running a red light at an intersection and proactively avoiding the intersection." An uncomfortable U-turn About two weeks after that aforementioned test, I was driving in FSD mode with a friend on Highway 280 north toward San Francisco on a sunny and clear day. Traffic built up ahead, so my Tesla pulled off on an exit lane. The onboard map showed that the car planned to wait by a traffic light and then go straight ahead — basically getting back on the highway to try to overtake a few other cars stuck in traffic. Similar to what the Waze app sometimes has drivers do. Once the light turned green, my Tesla turned left under the highway instead, even though the Tesla map showed that we should have gone straight. Then it did a U-turn at a slightly uncomfortable speed (a little too fast, I felt). The worst part was that it did this U-turn from the outside lane on a multi-lane road rather than the designated left-turn lane. And it did this maneuver in front of several traffic police who were attending to a minor incident about 70 feet away. Luckily, there were no cars in the left lane, which was the correct lane from which to do a U-turn or to just turn left. If there had been a car trying to turn left at that moment, we might have crashed into it. I'm not 100% sure of this, but that's my feeling. There was a risk of this happening. After doing the U-turn, the FSD system was going to try to turn left again, taking us, finally, back on Highway 280 north. But again, it was trying to turn from the center lane, not the left turn lane. I disengaged at this point and took over the driving. My friend turned to me in shock. I blushed, which was a strange experience. It was as if I were embarrassed by my car. "Your U-turn examples are new to me," Walker Smith said. "They are wild!" "It's possible that, if another vehicle had been in the left-most lane, then your Tesla would not have attempted a turn," he added. "But it's also possible that it would have." To FSD or not to FSD More recently, about 2 weeks ago, I was in FSD "Chill" mode in San Francisco, driving toward Ocean Beach. The car was on a two-lane road, and the Tesla map showed that it was supposed to pull into a left turn lane in the center of this road. The idea being that we would wait for oncoming traffic to clear and then turn left across the two lanes going the other way. The car put the left indicator on, but didn't go into the left turn lane. I disengaged and pulled gently into the correct lane myself. I still switch FSD on a lot, in "Chill" mode. On Tuesday, for instance, I drove on Highway 101 north to work from one of our WeWork office locations. This trip, and the return journey home, were uneventful and less stressful than driving myself in highway traffic. My FSD free trial ends in June. I'm now less likely to pay $99 a month for this technology. However, when I'm expecting to drive a lot during a particular period, I might pay for it occasionally. The key difference The final words should go to Walker Smith. Having read my diary, he made a crucial point. "Your (and every) version of so-called 'FSD' is merely a driver-assistance system," he told me. "Accordingly, it only works unless and until it doesn't. That's why you have to supervise — indeed, why you are still the driver who is driving." This may seem like quibbling over slight language tweaks. But there's a giant gap between "driver-assistance" systems that still need human supervision and fully autonomous technology that does not have anyone behind the wheel. Walker Smith slapped me on the wrist for writing in my original diary that "I barely drive it." He described this as "a fundamental misunderstanding and misrepresentation of driver-assistance systems." (He also thinks BI should correct the wording of our San Francisco Waymo vs Tesla test story. I checked with my editor, who said no.) Walker Smith described the difference between driver-assistance and automated driving as "climbing a 500-foot cliff with a rope or free-soloing it." Or, the difference between hearing a pilot on a plane say "Hi folks, today we'll be using autopilot" and hearing the pilot say "Hi folks, today you'll be using autopilot because I'm getting off the plane." FSD is an incredible piece of software, until it's not. When it works, it feels like the future. When it doesn't, it reminds you we're not there yet.
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Radio waves, aliens, Russian subs... or mating fish! What IS behind the sinister Hebridean hum driving locals mad?
It started quite suddenly, an unwelcome intrusion into an island's natural soundscape. And unlike the ebb and flow of ocean crashing on rock or the storms that soak the lochans and bogs of Lewis, there has been no let-up from this disconcertingly unnatural interloper. To some, it sounds like a lorry's engine idling in the road outside their home. Others complain of a infuriatingly vague but persistent low rumble they cannot escape. Most agree it's worse at night when they're praying for sleep to free them from their purgatory. Yet when they pull open their curtains, there is nothing out there to explain the incessant droning slowly eroding their sanity. Since it first assailed their ears in February, sufferers from Ness in the North to Scalpay in the South-East have tried in vain to locate the source of their despair. So far, all they have come up with is a name for their tormentor – the Hebridean Hum. To the vast majority of the island's residents who can't hear it, that may sound like an overly jolly name for a phenomenon which has blighted the lives of the minority who can. Disrupted sleep is only the start of their unpleasant symptoms: sufferers report difficulty concentrating, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and 'fluttering' in their eardrums. In extreme cases, it can engender feelings of isolation and deep distress. 'It's impossible to ignore – like somebody shouting in your face constantly for attention,' according to Dr Lauren-Grace Kirtley, who has set up a Facebook page to support the dozens of so-called Hummers, who are being driven half-mad by it. Some say they are the only ones in their families afflicted by its constant thrum, while one mother in the coastal hamlet of Shawbost reported being at her wit's end after her baby 'stopped sleeping at night' and her son complained of nausea and headaches. 'It is a very low humming, droning, pulsating noise. It's incredibly intrusive and distressing,' Dr Kirtley, a doctor and university lecturer, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme last week. 'I haven't slept a night through for weeks and have problems concentrating. I get a lot of fluttering in my ears. It's making me dizzy and giving me headaches.' Some islanders say they are so distressed by the noise, they are considering leaving. One posted: 'Awake at 12am, 2am. Sat outside at 4am with a coffee. 'Been awake since. I can't keep going with no sleep, ears constantly pulsing and ringing. Definitely going to relocate back to the mainland God willing, this is too much.' Dr Kirtley, 44, who moved to her dream home in Aignish from Staffordshire two years ago, has teamed up with fellow sufferer Marcus Hazel-McGowan, 52, a physics teacher and amateur radio enthusiast, to find the source of the Hum. M R Hazel-McGowan, who moved his family to the island partly in search of peace and quiet, is a former regional manager for the Radio Society of Great Britain and used to 'chase up spurious emissions and sounds'. He has begun mapping locations where the noise is detected and has found it to be less noticeable in the centre of the island and strongest on the east coast, telling the BBC: 'It's just trying to narrow it down and hoping nobody loses their mind completely over it.' Using a machine called a spectrograph, Mr Hazel-McGowan has measured the Hum at 50 Hertz, which falls below the hearing range of most. Only 2-4 per cent of the population are thought to be able to pick it up. Dr Kirtley said the noise was known to be man-made and was not simply a background hum from appliances. She said: 'It's a persistent, environmental tone that can be heard indoors and outdoors in multiple areas.' Following complaints to environmental health officers, the local authority has pledged to carry out further investigations. However, a council spokesman cautioned: 'Due to the geographical separation of the reports, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is currently considering them unrelated.' While Dr Kirtley presses on, compiling evidence to link the cases, her Facebook page has become a lightning rod for a slew of theories attempting to fathom the cause. From the first report by a householder in Ness who wondered if a recently-installed smart meter might be to blame, contributors have run the gamut from the plausible – power lines, power stations and phone masts – to the downright bizarre, including interference from Russian subs or even the mating calls of amorous fish. It is also clear that Lewis's Hum is creating an international buzz, with interest from as far afield as Canada, the US, France, and Australia. And it's not just armchair conspiracists offering their tuppence worth about sinister interference by government, the military, or, of course, aliens – the Facebook group has also been contacted by eminent names in the field of low-frequency noise pollution offering the benefit of their wisdom. And these experts are as one in their belief that, as incredible as it might seem, the Hebridean Hum is part of a World Wide Hum. Indeed, Lewis is far from the first place to endure low-frequency noise disruption. Last year, council officials informed the residents of Immingham, in Lincolnshire, that the source of a mysterious humming noise that has plagued them for years may never be discovered. Also last year, in a rare victory, a mystery hum dogging people in Omagh, Northern Ireland, was tracked by environmental health officers to an unnamed business premises and dealt with. In 2013, marine scientists argued that an outbreak in Hythe, near Southampton, might have been caused by 'the mating call of male midshipman fish', nocturnal creatures which 'emit ever-louder drones, sometimes for hours' to warn off other males. Midshipman were previously found to be the culprit when houseboat residents in Sausalito Harbour, California, reported strange noises. The truth is that 'The Hum' has largely baffled researchers since the 1970s, when the first widespread reports of the unexplained acoustic phenomenon cropped up around the West Country city of Bristol. In 1977, two of them wrote in the scientific journal Applied Acoustics that low-frequency sound waves generated by distant industrial sources were their best guess. Equally inconclusive was another famous hum which began plaguing the Ayrshire coastal resort of Largs in the late 1980s. The Largs Hum was the same low-pitched drone, inaudible to most but debilitating to a sensitive few. In New Mexico, the phenomenon is known as the Taos Hum after an artists' enclave where the US's first large-scale incident occurred in the early 1990s. A Congressional investigation was ordered, but experts failed to find any conclusive results. In Canada, it is known as the Windsor Hum following a spate of cases in the eponymous town in Ontario. Hopes that the Lewis Hum might be caused by the temporary switch-on of electricity company SSEN's Battery Point Power Station in Stornoway were dashed when it was realised that the energy hub only operated at certain times, while the hum has been reported as constant. In any case, localised industrial sources seem inadequate to explain the worldwide prevalence of the Hum. So what exactly is this mystifying noise? And does it even have an environmental origin, or is it all in the mind? It is fertile ground for research not only for scientists, but science fiction writers too. Last year, BBC One addressed the issue in its four-part drama The Listeners starring Rebecca Hall as a teacher pushed to the brink by a low hum that no one around her seems to pick up. In Drive, a 1998 episode of The X-Files, a man is being driven mad by a painful sensation of pressure building in his head. Agent Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, discovers the cause is a United States Navy antenna array emitting extremely low frequency waves. Certainly, long-distance radio transmissions have been put forward as a possible cause of the Hum. One intriguing possibility is so-called TACAMO aircraft –military planes that employ radio frequencies in the lowest end of the spectrum to track or communicate with submerged submarines. T HE planes often operate at night, and their movements are top secret. Hum hearers in Largs have long suspected it is connected to operations at the nearby Faslane naval base, although no proof has ever been presented. If TACAMO was to blame, it might also explain why many sites are on the coast. The Russian Navy has long operated in the deep Atlantic waters off the Western Isles. However, the theory holds little water with the world's foremost Hum scientist, Dr Glen MacPherson, of the University of British Columbia, in Canada. Dr MacPherson, a Hum hearer who set up the World Hum Map and Database Project to record instances, said: 'I rejected that theory years ago after physical experiments ruled it out.' So, what does Dr MacPherson, who has undertaken years of research, think it could be? His study appears to show that fully ambidextrous people, and those with a family or personal history of ADHD or autism are over-represented in the data. He said: 'We are reasonably certain that the Hum is an internally generated perception of sound – that is, it is not actually a sound, just as tinnitus is not actually a sound. It is likely caused by some combination of specific anatomy, environmental exposure, or prescription/over-the-counter drug use.' It seems astonishing to contemplate that all these reports of debilitating symptoms might simply be people's brains playing tricks on them. Back in 2009, Dr David Baguley, who was a leading audiologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, told BBC News the Hum might be due to our sense of hearing becoming greatly heightened during times of stress. He suggested hearing about the Hum could lead sufferers to fixate on a perceived background noise, with it becoming a source of increasing frustration, causing additional stress which tricks the brain into turning up the volume even further. With his own Hum patients, Dr Baguley said he had some success with simple relaxation techniques borrowed from psychology. However, noise and vibration expert Geoff Leventhall, who has studied similar incidents for more than half a century, received short shrift when he advised the Lewis Hummers to try cognitive behavioural therapy to help them 'relax and desensitise themselves'. 'It is draining, debilitating and incredibly distressing and disruptive,' Dr Kirtley told one newspaper. 'Telling people to get used to it is not an acceptable solution.' For that, they must wait and hope as the source remains, maddeningly, just out of reach.
Time Business News
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Time Business News
Affordable Prom Limo Service New Jersey
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Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Telsa attacks mark a surreal twist in political violence as Musk divides America
There were broad expectations that the widening political divides in America following Donald Trump's second presidential victory would explode. But few could have predicted the flash point would be electric cars. Teslas have been set ablaze with Molotov cocktails, riddled with bullets and defaced with swastikas. Doors and windows at once pristine luxury electric vehicle showrooms are now scrawled with profanity and Nazi symbols. Teslas, once the darling of alternative energy advocates, are now the unlikely target of political violence. Experts say while the singling out of individual vehicles is unusual, activists focusing ire on a corporation has a long history in America. No one has been seriously hurt in the incidents, but they have heightened alarm from both law enforcement officials and experts in political extremism about where this is heading. "We have a continuum of activity, some of which we rightfully tolerate, such as boisterous and passionate protests," said Brian Levin, a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and an expert on extremism. "But now we're getting to another level of this kind of directed arson and violence, which, to be sure, has an intimidation effect." Read more: 'I've been betrayed.' Tesla drivers are pushing back on Elon Musk The Tesla attacks have been scattered and do not appear to be coordinated. But the one thing they seem to have in common is disdain for Telsa owner Elon Musk and his efforts to fire federal workers and shrink the size of government. After Las Vegas was hit with a spat of Telsa attacks, Spencer Evans, FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas bureau, issued a warning to would-be political vandals. "Specifically to those who might think that something like this is justifiable or potentially even admirable, we want to let you know it's a federal crime," he said. "We will come after you, we will find you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. I encourage anyone that's considering something like this to seriously reconsider." This isn't the first time corporations or even car brands have been the target of political protest, and sometimes vandalism. Protests over Energy Transfer's construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota drew national attention and thousands of people to months-long encampments in 2016 and 2017. A jury this week awarded damages of more than $660 million to the pipeline company in its lawsuit against Greenpeace over the environmental organization's role in the protests. In 2003, activists set fire to a Chevrolet dealership and destroyed or defaced dozens of Hummers and other sport utility vehicles, scrawling many with the word "polluter." Earth Liberation Front, an association of militant environmentalists, claimed responsibility for the attacks at the time, saying it had been intended to take the profit motive away from the companies responsible for pollution. The same group was suspected to be involved in a fire that tore through a construction site in San Diego that same year, according to a Times report from 2003. "Over the last decade ideologically motivated militants from across a spectrum, as well as some unstable and idiosyncratic types, have targeted their broadening attacks not only against traditional, governmental, communication and academic enterprises, but also increasingly against powerful corporate or defense industry targets who they regard as political co-conspirators of their adversaries," Levin said. There have been growing concerns about political extremism in the United States in the Trump era, especially after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying election results. On his first day in office, President Trump granted sweeping pardons or commutations to more than 1,500 people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses. The pardons and now the efforts to protect Tesla have sent out a conflicting message about how the Trump administration will handle targeted political violence, Levin said. "You can't have it both ways," Levin said. "If the Trump administration is going to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk with respect to targeted violence. You can't just pick and choose which particular ideology you prefer when it comes to having a legal response to acts of targeted violence." Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi labeled the attacks on Tesla dealerships this week as "nothing short of domestic terrorism." Bondi promised to impose severe consequences on those involved in the Tesla attacks, including "those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes." While domestic terrorism is defined in federal law, it's not an official criminal statute that carries a specific penalty. Those arrested in the attacks have so far been charged under other federal statutes that can carry significant jail time. Under federal statutes, conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said applying terror charges to Tesla attacks is possible, but it's not how terrorism charges have been filed in the past. "Americans have not been charged with terrorism because it can be difficult to get inside a criminal defendant's head and prove why they committed the violent act. It's much easier if they are a member of or have pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization," Rahmani said. Read more: Tesla's steep fall from California's green darling to hated target of protests, violence, fires It's not just showrooms that are on alert. A website, Dogequest, allegedly published the personal information of Tesla owners across the United States, raising privacy and safety concerns for those who own the electric vehicles. The website has since been taken down. Musk has fired back on his social media platform, X, doling out blame for the attacks on Democrats and others. "Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company? I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction!" Musk wrote on X. In San Diego, a person wearing dark clothing and a red bandanna around their face sneaked onto the Tesla showroom in Encinitas before 2 a.m. Monday and spray-painted swastikas on eight vehicles and defaced the dealership's windows with profanity, said San Diego County Sheriff Sgt. Christie Ramirez. Ramirez said investigators have not made any arrests. Several dealerships have been defaced with Nazi symbols — an apparent response to the arm gesture Musk made while speaking at a rally celebrating Trump's inauguration in January. Musk denies the gesture was a Nazi salute. Read more: In latest blow to Tesla, regulators recall nearly all Cybertrucks In Las Vegas, the FBI and Las Vegas metro police launched an investigation this week after vandals threw Molotov cocktails and fired at least three rounds into vehicles at a Tesla Collision Center just a few miles from the Vegas Strip around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. Several Teslas were engulfed in flames and the word "resist" was spray-painted on building doors, said Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren. A 911 caller reported seeing a person wearing black clothing setting multiple electric vehicles on fire. At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident, including two fully engulfed by fire, authorities said. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating a similar incident in Kansas City, Mo., where two Cybertrucks were set ablaze early Tuesday. Authorities say so far there is no connection to the Las Vegas attack. There have been at least half a dozen similar acts of vandalism at Tesla showrooms across the country in the past several months. On March 2, someone scrawled the words "NO Musk" in red spray paint on the windows of a Tesla dealership in Owings Mills, Md. A day later, seven Tesla charging stations were set on fire in Littleton, Mass. In Tigard, Ore., police are investigating after someone opened fire at a Tesla dealership twice in a span of about a week. In the first incident, which occurred March 6, someone fired at least seven rounds — damaging three cars and shattering windows. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor, according to police. "Fortunately, this happened overnight when the property was unoccupied," authorities wrote in a news release. In Seattle, four Cybertrucks that were parked in a Tesla lot were set ablaze on March 9. In Dedham, Mass., three Teslas were spray-painted with graffiti and their tires were slashed on March 11, police said. In Lynnwood, Wash., someone spray-painted red swastikas on Cybertrucks that were parked at a Tesla center waiting to be serviced. Many of the investigations remain ongoing, but at least four people have been charged after allegedly destroying Tesla property. Read more: Anti-DOGE protests at Tesla stores target Elon Musk's bottom line Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, of Salem, Ore., has been charged federally with illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device after authorities say he allegedly tried to destroy Teslas at a local dealership with Molotov cocktails. Lansky also allegedly fired several rounds into a building and a vehicle at the dealership, according to court records. In Loveland, Colo., two people have been arrested after attacks on a Tesla dealership. Cooper Jo Frederick, 24, of Fort Collins was charged with using and possessing an explosive, second-degree arson, criminal mischief and attempted criminal felony after police say an incendiary device was ignited and thrown at a Tesla building, landing between two vehicles. Lucy Grace Nelson, 42, of Lyons, Colo., was charged with a count of malicious destruction of property for allegedly lighting a fire near a Cybertruck at the dealership and writing "Nazi" on a dealership sign, according to court records. Daniel Clarke-Pounder, 24, of South Carolina was also charged this month with arson involving property used for interstate commerce after prosecutors allege he spray-painted "F— Trump" and "Long Live Ukraine" in a parking spot used for people charging their vehicles. Authorities allege he pulled out five Molotov cocktails and threw them at the chargers, damaging the devices. He faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted, according to prosecutors. Read more: Tesla raises concerns over retaliatory tariffs in unsigned letter Separately from the violence, peaceful protesters have mobilized around the country at Tesla dealerships. A group of women calling themselves the "Grandma Brigade" gathered outside the Tesla showroom and service center on Pullman Street in Costa Mesa this month to speak out against Musk's involvement in the federal government. "Maybe if we hit back economically we'll be able to show that the United States can't be bought for a few million dollars from a rich man," said Debbie Marsteller, one of the members of the group. But Marsteller was shocked by the vandalism others have unleashed on the dealerships. "People putting Nazi swastikas on Tesla cars ... it's absurd to me," she said. "It doesn't help our cause." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Telsa attacks mark a surreal twist in political violence as Musk divides America
There were broad expectations that the widening political divides in America following Donald Trump's second presidential victory would explode. But few could have predicted the flash point would be electric cars. Teslas have been set ablaze with Molotov cocktails, riddled with bullets and defaced with swastikas. Doors and windows at once pristine luxury electric vehicle showrooms are now scrawled with profanity and Nazi symbols. Teslas, once the darling of alternative energy advocates, are now the unlikely target of political violence. Experts say while the singling out of individual vehicles is unusual, activists focusing ire on a corporation has a long history in America. No one has been seriously hurt in the incidents, but they have heightened alarm from both law enforcement officials and experts in political extremism about where this is heading. 'We have a continuum of activity, some of which we rightfully tolerate, such as boisterous and passionate protests,' said Brian Levin, a professor emeritus at Cal State San Bernardino and an expert on extremism. 'But now we're getting to another level of this kind of directed arson and violence, which, to be sure, has an intimidation effect.' The Tesla attacks have been scattered and do not appear to be coordinated. But the one thing they seem to have in common is disdain for Telsa owner Elon Musk and his efforts to fire federal workers and shrink the size of government. After Las Vegas was hit with a spat of Telsa attacks, Spencer Evans, FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas bureau, issued a warning to would-be political vandals. 'Specifically to those who might think that something like this is justifiable or potentially even admirable, we want to let you know it's a federal crime,' he said. 'We will come after you, we will find you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. I encourage anyone that's considering something like this to seriously reconsider.' This isn't the first time corporations or even car brands have been the target of political protest, and sometimes vandalism. Protests over Energy Transfer's construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota drew national attention and thousands of people to months-long encampments in 2016 and 2017. A jury this week awarded damages of more than $660 million to the pipeline company in its lawsuit against Greenpeace over the environmental organization's role in the protests. In 2003, activists set fire to a Chevrolet dealership and destroyed or defaced dozens of Hummers and other sport utility vehicles, scrawling many with the word 'polluter.' Earth Liberation Front, an association of militant environmentalists, claimed responsibility for the attacks at the time, saying it had been intended to take the profit motive away from the companies responsible for pollution. The same group was suspected to be involved in a fire that tore through a construction site in San Diego that same year, according to a Times report from 2003. 'Over the last decade ideologically motivated militants from across a spectrum, as well as some unstable and idiosyncratic types, have targeted their broadening attacks not only against traditional, governmental, communication and academic enterprises, but also increasingly against powerful corporate or defense industry targets who they regard as political co-conspirators of their adversaries,' Levin said. There have been growing concerns about political extremism in the United States in the Trump era, especially after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying election results. On his first day in office, President Trump granted sweeping pardons or commutations to more than 1,500 people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses. The pardons and now the efforts to protect Tesla have sent out a conflicting message about how the Trump administration will handle targeted political violence, Levin said. 'You can't have it both ways,' Levin said. 'If the Trump administration is going to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk with respect to targeted violence. You can't just pick and choose which particular ideology you prefer when it comes to having a legal response to acts of targeted violence.' Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi labeled the attacks on Tesla dealerships this week as 'nothing short of domestic terrorism.' Bondi promised to impose severe consequences on those involved in the Tesla attacks, including 'those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.' While domestic terrorism is defined in federal law, it's not an official criminal statute that carries a specific penalty. Those arrested in the attacks have so far been charged under other federal statutes that can carry significant jail time. Under federal statutes, conspiracy and malicious destruction counts each carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, said applying terror charges to Tesla attacks is possible, but it's not how terrorism charges have been filed in the past. 'Americans have not been charged with terrorism because it can be difficult to get inside a criminal defendant's head and prove why they committed the violent act. It's much easier if they are a member of or have pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization,' Rahmani said. It's not just showrooms that are on alert. A website, Dogequest, allegedly published the personal information of Tesla owners across the United States, raising privacy and safety concerns for those who own the electric vehicles. The website has since been taken down. Musk has fired back on his social media platform, X, doling out blame for the attacks on Democrats and others. 'Has there ever been such a level of coordinated violence against a peaceful company? I understand not wanting to buy a product, but this is extreme arson and destruction!' Musk wrote on X. In San Diego, a person wearing dark clothing and a red bandanna around their face sneaked onto the Tesla showroom in Encinitas before 2 a.m. Monday and spray-painted swastikas on eight vehicles and defaced the dealership's windows with profanity, said San Diego County Sheriff Sgt. Christie Ramirez. Ramirez said investigators have not made any arrests. Several dealerships have been defaced with Nazi symbols — an apparent response to the arm gesture Musk made while speaking at a rally celebrating Trump's inauguration in January. Musk denies the gesture was a Nazi salute. In Las Vegas, the FBI and Las Vegas metro police launched an investigation this week after vandals threw Molotov cocktails and fired at least three rounds into vehicles at a Tesla Collision Center just a few miles from the Vegas Strip around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. Several Teslas were engulfed in flames and the word 'resist' was spray-painted on building doors, said Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren. A 911 caller reported seeing a person wearing black clothing setting multiple electric vehicles on fire. At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident, including two fully engulfed by fire, authorities said. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating a similar incident in Kansas City, Mo., where two Cybertrucks were set ablaze early Tuesday. Authorities say so far there is no connection to the Las Vegas attack. There have been at least half a dozen similar acts of vandalism at Tesla showrooms across the country in the past several months. On March 2, someone scrawled the words 'NO Musk' in red spray paint on the windows of a Tesla dealership in Owings Mills, Md. A day later, seven Tesla charging stations were set on fire in Littleton, Mass. In Tigard, Ore., police are investigating after someone opened fire at a Tesla dealership twice in a span of about a week. In the first incident, which occurred March 6, someone fired at least seven rounds — damaging three cars and shattering windows. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor, according to police. 'Fortunately, this happened overnight when the property was unoccupied,' authorities wrote in a news release. In Seattle, four Cybertrucks that were parked in a Tesla lot were set ablaze on March 9. In Dedham, Mass., three Teslas were spray-painted with graffiti and their tires were slashed on March 11, police said. In Lynnwood, Wash., someone spray-painted red swastikas on Cybertrucks that were parked at a Tesla center waiting to be serviced. Many of the investigations remain ongoing, but at least four people have been charged after allegedly destroying Tesla property. Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, of Salem, Ore., has been charged federally with illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device after authorities say he allegedly tried to destroy Teslas at a local dealership with Molotov cocktails. Lansky also allegedly fired several rounds into a building and a vehicle at the dealership, according to court records. In Loveland, Colo., two people have been arrested after attacks on a Tesla dealership. Cooper Jo Frederick, 24, of Fort Collins was charged with using and possessing an explosive, second-degree arson, criminal mischief and attempted criminal felony after police say an incendiary device was ignited and thrown at a Tesla building, landing between two vehicles. Lucy Grace Nelson, 42, of Lyons, Colo., was charged with a count of malicious destruction of property for allegedly lighting a fire near a Cybertruck at the dealership and writing 'Nazi' on a dealership sign, according to court records. Daniel Clarke-Pounder, 24, of South Carolina was also charged this month with arson involving property used for interstate commerce after prosecutors allege he spray-painted 'F— Trump' and 'Long Live Ukraine' in a parking spot used for people charging their vehicles. Authorities allege he pulled out five Molotov cocktails and threw them at the chargers, damaging the devices. He faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted, according to prosecutors. Separately from the violence, peaceful protesters have mobilized around the country at Tesla dealerships. A group of women calling themselves the 'Grandma Brigade' gathered outside the Tesla showroom and service center on Pullman Street in Costa Mesa this month to speak out against Musk's involvement in the federal government. 'Maybe if we hit back economically we'll be able to show that the United States can't be bought for a few million dollars from a rich man,' said Debbie Marsteller, one of the members of the group. But Marsteller was shocked by the vandalism others have unleashed on the dealerships. 'People putting Nazi swastikas on Tesla cars ... it's absurd to me,' she said. 'It doesn't help our cause.'
