A group protesting controversial US tech billionaire Elon Musk destroyed a Tesla vehicle in London on Thursday during a demonstration billed as a “public art project.”
Members of the Everyone Hates Elon campaign group smashed the secondhand car with sledgehammers and baseball bats, inviting others to join in. “Therapy is expensive, but this is free,” read a poster promoting the event.
The group said that it offered people a way to “safely and legally” destroy a Tesla and that the vandalized car will be auctioned to raise money for local food banks.
“There are more billionaires than ever before and there are more food banks than ever before. These things are obviously connected,” said a group spokesperson, according to local media.
On its Instagram post ahead of the action, the group also noted that they used a Tesla that was already destined for scrap.
“This is a controlled, supervised art installation with proper safety measures in place,” it added.
The group has gained attention by distributing posters and stickers with anti-Musk slogans such as “Don’t buy a Swasticar,” “Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds,” and “X marks the rot.”
Teslas have also been destroyed elsewhere, including in a fire in Rome that destroyed 17 cars and is suspected to be arson. Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have also been vandalized across the US.
Public backlash has intensified across Europe since Musk became a close associate of US President Donald Trump and supported extremist groups in the UK and Germany.
In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla sales fell more than 50% year-on-year in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland.