Upscale Doylestown Borough is not a place where you’d expect an adult man to vandalize a Tesla by keying a swastika into the side of the EV.
The pricey vehicle was vandalized on Monday in the Planet Fitness club parking lot, and the owner filed a police report Tuesday morning, said Central Bucks Police Sgt. Wayne Jones.
According to police, the owner discovered the damage after he got home from the gym. When he checked the cameras on the Tesla, he found video of the man who vandalized his car.
The video reportedly shows a man appearing to scratch something into the rear passenger door of the Tesla before going into the Planet Fitness.
The incident is “under investigation,” said Jones. Police had not charged anyone as of late Tuesday afternoon.
There are also reports that a Tesla was damaged in the Newtown Shopping Center parking lot on Sunday by four juveniles.
Ed Sheppard, communications chairman of the Doylestown Republican Committee, was quick to link the local incident to a wave of vandalism and violence directed toward Tesla owners across the U.S. The attacks are inspired by animosity toward Tesla founder Elon Musk and his relationship with President Donald Trump.
The FBI reports that since January, incidents targeting Tesla electric vehicles, dealerships, storage lots, and charging stations have occurred in at least nine states. Press reports recount Molotov cocktail attacks in Colorado, Oregon, and South Carolina; gunfire in Oregon and Las Vegas; and arson in Massachusetts, Seattle, and Kansas City.
Sheppard accused local Democrats, who control local government, of being silent rather than condemning the incident.
“There’s been a deafening silence from our leaders,” said Sheppard.
“Condemning political violence, intimidation, violence, destruction and swastikas should be a no brainer. The silence of elected Democrats in the borough and township over this act speaks volumes,” said Sheppard. “It should worry every resident of Doylestown that the Doylestown Democrats have become so extreme that this kind of behavior and mentality now has a home here.”
DV Journal requested a comment from the Doylestown Democrats but has yet to receive a response.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently announced federal charges filed against three people who were arrested for violent acts against Tesla property, including one who threw Molotov cocktails at a dealership in Oregon; another trying to light Tesla vehicles on fire in Colorado; and a third person who wrote profane messages against Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting them on fire.
The defendants might face five to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to a press release.
Sheppard noted Doylestown is a progressive community where “Hate Has No Home” signs are commonly found in front yards.
“Doylestown Democrats have become so extreme that this kind of behavior and mentality now has a home here.”
