Tesla’s Rome store in flames, 17 cars destroyed, cause unknown

Tesla’s store in Rome was on fire this morning, destroying 17 vehicles and parts of a building. Investigators are still investigating the cause.

Arson is not ruled out.

The fire was reported at Tesla’s store in Rome, Italy at around 4 AM this morning.

Firefighters responded quickly a building where Tesla was storing vehicles as well as 17 vehicles were reportedly lost in the fire.

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According to local news, the cause of the fire is still being investigated, and arson hasn’t been ruled out.

As of late, arson has been at the top of everyone’s mind in the case of a fire at a Tesla location due to several extremist groups targeting the company.

There have been several acts of vandalism against Tesla stores around the world, including burning vehicles.

We previously reported on Tesla vehicles being set on fire at Tesla locations in Las Vegas and France.

Last weekend, the ‘Tesla Takedown’ movement held its biggest demonstration with protests at over 200 locations. Most of those are legal, peaceful protests, but amid the broader movement to pressure Elon Musk through Tesla, some more radical groups have used vandalism.

In the US, President Trump has labelled violence against Tesla as “domestic terrorism”, Tesla’s issues are now clearly global.

Electrek’s Take

The cause is unknown yet, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was arson. This is sad to see. The Tesla Takedown protests this weekend were truly impressive to see. A ton of people showed up at many locations and it was peaceful and impactful.

These extremists who set locations and vehicles on fire, even though they have nothing to do with the protests, are eroding their credibility.

It needs to stop.