Nearly Half Of All Tesla Owners Surveyed Report Their Rides Being Vandalized

Forbes

14-05-2025

A while back we reported that Tesla owners were more frequently becoming the victims of road rage, being heckled, flipped off, cut off and even blocked from using public charging stations. At the time owners said were harassed most often by pickup truck drivers harboring anti-electric-car attitudes as part of the country's ongoing culture wars, though some felt they were being treated rudely on the road due to ill will directed toward the company's increasingly right-leaning CE0 Elon Musk.
Flash forward to today, and the anti-Tesla sentiment has not only escalated, the contempt has switched sides, so to speak, in the cultural conflict. This due in no small part to Musk's ersatz insertion into federal politics via the Trump administration's jobs and services slashing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But what began as protests at Tesla dealerships nationwide have turned especially ugly. A just-released survey of 508 Tesla owners conducted by the online insurer Guardian Service indicates that nearly half reported that their vehicles have been intentionally damaged, presumably at the hands of Musk/Tesla-bashers. What's more, around three-quarters of respondents fear being targeted moving forward as adverse sentiments toward the automaker continue to foment.
On top of that, and likely as a result, the report states that 61% of Tesla owners say their insurance rates have been hiked by an average of $340 annually, regardless of whether or not their vehicles have been vandalized. And 53% expect their premiums to take another hit by year's end.
In terms of hard numbers, 44% of Tesla owners surveyed report their vehicles being has been keyed, slashed, or otherwise damaged. The Guardian Service report notes that 46% of those vandalized reside in southern states, 22% in the Northeast, 21% in western states and 11% in the Midwest. Disturbingly, 25% of those surveyed have physically encountered someone in the process of damaging their Teslas.
At 61% Gen Z owners reported the highest frequency of Tesla rage, which Guardian Service says is nearly twice the rate reported by older drivers. They also paid more than their senior counterparts for repairs at an average $2,113, versus $1,730.
Overall, a whopping 72% of current owners worry they're more likely to be the targets of vandalism than those behind the wheels of vehicles from competing brands. A full 66% feel anxious about leaving their cars unattended and 60% say the fear of vandalism has caused them to drive fewer miles or avoid specific parts of town entirely. As a result, 54% have installed or enabled video surveillance systems to help law enforcement identify vandals.
And yes, Tesla drivers continue to be the victims of road rage, with 43% of respondents saying they've being on the receiving end of rude gestures and comments while on the road.
Perhaps as a result, the Guardian Services study indicates that 30% of owners say they won't be replacing their existing rides with another Tesla.
Already, resale values for used Teslas have been plummeting, with the online auto marketplace iSeeCars.com reporting that with the brand's pre-owned rides have lost an average 10.1% of their worth in the past year, with used Tesla Model S values in particular sliding by a considerable 17.1%.
At that, Tesla is reportedly sitting on $200 million worth of unsold Cybertruck models that can't seem to find buyers for reasons that include being involved in multiple recalls, with the latest involving body panels randomly falling off the vehicle. Sales have slowed to the point where Tesla dealers have reportedly stopped taking Cybertrucks in trade or buying them outright because they can't sell the new models gathering dust on their lots, with dealers from competing brands giving lowball offers to minimize any financial risk.
Talk about a fall from grace.