Man accused of tagging Tesla vehicles with Elon Musk stickers in Massachusetts
Suspect said it's "free speech"
Cellphone video shows the moment a Tesla driver confronted the man who allegedly vandalized his car.
"It's my free speech," the man who allegedly placed the stickers said.
Police say they are planning to charge him with a crime. His name has not yet been released.
"This is clearly not free speech," said Brookline Police Deputy Paul Campbell. "You can say whatever you want, you can post whatever you want on social media. You can't go around damaging other people's property."
The Brookline Police Department says this same man has vandalized multiple Teslas in the area.
Jillian was the driver of one of those vehicles. She says she was shocked by what happened. "No one's ever you know yelled, you know anything in reference to Tesla or Elon Musk," Jillian said.
She was renting the car at the time and was looking for an environmentally friendly option. She says the experience left her feeling shaken. "When I started looking around checking my whereabouts of course I was terrified. It just shocked me," Jillian said.
Recent Tesla vandalism reports
There have been other reports of vandalism targeting Tesla products in recent weeks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed President Donald Trump and is now the head of the president's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In Littleton on Monday, police said seven Tesla charging stations were intentionally set on fire and the incident is being investigated as suspicious.
A Massachusetts doctor told WBZ-TV last month he has been threatened because he drives a gold Tesla Cybertruck. Someone put a profane sticker on the vehicle, and when he posted a photo of it on social media the man told police he started getting threats online.
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