Middle fingers, fires and fear: Tesla owners face vandalism and vitriol as brand faces political backlash

Anger over Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration is spilling over into Canada with an anti-Tesla demonstration planned for Saturday in Edmonton. CTV News

As anger grows over decisions made by the U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, there are growing reports of Tesla vehicles being targeted in Canada.

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With Tesla CEO Elon Musk drawing ire from the public, some Tesla owners are finding themselves in the middle of a political situation they never intended to be in.

Harsh Dan has owned a Tesla SUV since April 2020, before Tesla CEO Elon Musk became heavily involved in U.S. politics.

He said owning an electric vehicle (EV) in Oil Country already came with its share of negativity, but recently he feels there’s a target on his back, with people giving him the middle finger in traffic and while charging up.

“I found my plug-in charger there on the floor in the mud one day,” he said. “On the video … some guy unplugged it, gave me the finger and walked away – I wasn’t even in the car.”

This past week, two Teslas were damaged in Calgary in fires police believe were arsons, more than 80 Teslas were slashed and scratched at an Ontario dealership, and two activists were arrested in Montreal for vandalizing a dealership there.

With attacks on Teslas taking place across Canada and the U.S., The Vancouver Auto Show dropped the company from its recent exhibition due to concerns over safety for staff and attendees.

The head of the Tesla Owners Club of Alberta Angie Dean said it’s “scary” being caught in the middle after buying her EV to cut down on fuel and maintenance costs and reduce her carbon footprint.

“We just bought cars because they were the best thing for our families,” she said. “And then, all of sudden, it becomes a political statement that we did not buy the car to make in a lot of cases.”

Like Dan, Dean has been “on edge” given the recent vandalism of vehicles.

“You’re never quite sure if somebody is going to try and do something to it, or if someone’s going to be aggressive on the roads just because of the car that you’re driving,” Dean said.

Michael Kalmanovitch, a long-time business owner in Edmonton, said he doesn’t condone the damaging of personal property, but he does want to discourage people from supporting Tesla.

On Saturday, he gathered with a few people outside the Edmonton Tesla dealership on 111 Avenue in solidarity with the U.S. Tesla Takedown movement.

• Canadians in several cities join ‘Tesla Takedown’ protests against Musk, Trump

“Because of Elon Musk’s association with Tesla and his kind of draconian measures in the government of DOGE,” Kalamanovitch explained. “Also his salute, his Roman salute, and things like that.”

“The idea is to associate their name with something that you do not want to have or choose not to buy, even if you have the opportunity to buy it … there’s this ‘yuck’ attached to it.”

Dan said that negative perception has made it impossible to sell his four-year-old Tesla at a price even close to what he believes it’s worth.

He hopes to see Musk step away from the company to offer some respite to owners, but in the meantime, he has removed the Tesla emblem from his car.

“I’ve had it already taken off about a year ago … just a difference of opinion, " he said. “I’m kind of stuck in this car, so I’m going to do what I can to just blend in.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg