Yet another arrest has been made in Massachusetts in the ongoing vandalism of Tesla vehicles across the U.S. in a backlash against the President Trump administration and billionaire advisor Elon Musk, the owner of the automaker.
Peabody Police on Tuesday arrested Grady Pierre, 28, of Saugus, on 11 counts of defacing property and one count of disturbing the peace. The department accuses him of pouring paint on “a number of Tesla vehicles” parked in the lot at the local Tesla dealership at 210 Andover St.
They said that he was scheduled for arraignment on the charges at Peabody District Court.
The arrest is the latest in nationwide protests against the Trump administration and the efforts of Musk, who runs the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and is tasked with dramatically downsizing federal government operations.
Some protesters are taking their policy disagreements not to rallies, like the one in which tens of thousands joined in Boston on Saturday, but to alleged acts of criminal mischief, primarily by vandalizing the electric vehicles sold by Tesla, Musk’s company. There have been multiple instances in Massachusetts, but also all over the country and even the world.
Some go so far as setting fire to the vehicles, like the case of a man in Las Vegas.
The backlash has defaced not only the vehicles, but the value of the once high-flying company whose stock prices soared in what seemed to be a reinvention of the auto industry. The company lost another 5% in stock price by close of market Monday. Tesla’s sales fell 13% in the first three months of the year, according to the Associated Press.
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