Someone in Irvine has a specific target, ABC7 reports: 13 Tesla vehicles, and no others, spray-painted with political insults at the same parking complex, in two waves.
What happened
The vandalism struck the parking garages near an LA Fitness on Michelson Drive in Irvine. The first round came around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, July 18, when four vehicles were damaged. Less than a week later, nine more were hit at the same location, bringing the total to 13.
The graffiti was pointed. Cars were sprayed, in red paint, with the words "Nazi" and "Fascist," one victim's in large letters across the vehicle. And the targeting was consistent: every damaged car was a Tesla, which is what turns this from random vandalism into something deliberate.
The suspect
Police have surveillance footage. It shows a man shaking a spray-paint can and pulling his shirt up over his mouth, with what investigators describe as distinctive shoes and an apparent tattoo behind his right elbow. Irvine police officer Ziggy Azarcon acknowledged the case stands out: "This is something that doesn't happen every single day in Irvine, so this is a very unique vandalism case." Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Noelle at the Irvine Police Department.
The context, stated neutrally
It would be incomplete to report this without the obvious backdrop, and irresponsible to editorialize about it. Teslas have become a recurring target of vandalism around the country over the past couple of years, a pattern widely tied to the political role of the company's chief executive, Elon Musk. Graffiti reading "Nazi" and "Fascist," sprayed exclusively on one brand of car, fits squarely within that phenomenon.
That context explains the likely motive without excusing the act. Whatever one thinks of Musk or his politics, keying and spray-painting strangers' cars is vandalism, and the people whose Teslas were tagged in an Irvine parking garage are not public figures; they are commuters who parked at the gym. The crime is a crime regardless of the message, and the message does not make the owners fair game.
The Herald will report if Irvine police identify the suspect, and whether the case is charged as a hate-related or politically motivated crime or simply as vandalism, a distinction prosecutors, not spray paint, will decide.
