In recent days, incidents of vandalism targeting Tesla vehicles have been reported in various parts of the United States, and now the phenomenon has made its way to the Flushing Chinese community in New York. Just yesterday morning, a Chinese ride-hailing driver’s Tesla in Flushing was vandalized, with surveillance footage identifying the perpetrator as an Asian woman in her forties who appeared to be of Chinese descent.
The driver, Mr. Yang, shared with reporters that he had purchased his Tesla in 2023 and had never experienced such an incident before. He parked his car outside a building at 136-20 Maple Ave. in Flushing and returned at 10:24 in the morning to find his vehicle had been smashed with a large stone.
Upon reviewing the car’s onboard cameras, Mr. Yang discovered that the female suspect, who appeared to be of Chinese descent, approached the vehicle with one hand holding a semi-transparent plastic bag filled with stones and the other hand wielding a large stone. She proceeded to smash the car’s license plate at the rear, folded the plate from both sides, forcefully removed it, and then stole the license plate. The woman exhibited a calm demeanor and skillful execution of the vandalism.
Mr. Yang also noted that various parts of the car, including the rear, doors, windows, and front, had been vandalized, leaving behind visible marks from the attacks.
A nearby resident, Mr. Wang, informed Mr. Yang that he had witnessed a woman repeatedly smashing the Tesla with stones in the morning and later returning to continue the vandalism, expressing disbelief at the senseless act by remarking, “She must be crazy!”
After reporting the incident to the authorities, it took approximately two hours for the police to arrive. The police reviewed the video footage of the woman committing the crime and informed Mr. Yang that since the license plate had been stolen, a new one would need to be issued and placed at the rear of the vehicle.
Recently, some individuals resort to damaging Tesla cars as a means to express dissatisfaction with Elon Musk, the head of federal government efficiency departments. Mr. Yang stated that he did not recognize the perpetrator and speculated that she had come prepared, as indicated by the plastic bag filled with stones she carried. He believed she might be specifically targeting Tesla vehicles, randomly choosing locations where Teslas were parked for the vandalism. He questioned what purpose she had with carrying so many stones.
Mr. Yang further expressed that some Tesla drivers have taken precautions by removing the Tesla emblem and using other car brands’ logos to avoid drawing attention and potential vandalism. Despite this, he asserted that he was not afraid, denouncing the vandals as evil individuals driven by incompetence to commit such atrocious acts without consideration of right and wrong.
President Trump labeled those damaging Tesla cars and facilities as engaging in “domestic terrorism,” prompting the FBI to establish a task force investigating the vandalism targeting Tesla dealerships and charging stations as potential terrorism acts. Mr. Yang fully supported this stance and urged the authorities to apprehend the suspects and hold them accountable.