Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), voiced his shock and frustration over a wave of violent attacks against Tesla vehicles and dealerships. Speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday, Musk blamed “hatred and violence from the left” in reaction to his aggressive government cost-cutting reforms.
“I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This”
In the interview, Musk said:
“It’s come as quite a shock to me that there’s this level of hatred and violence from the left. I always thought that Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy and caring and yet they’re burning down cars, firebombing dealerships, firing bullets into dealerships, and smashing up Teslas.
Tesla is a peaceful company, we’ve never done anything harmful. I’ve never done anything harmful, I’ve only done productive things. I think we have a deranged mental illness thing going on here because this doesn’t make any sense.
I think there are larger forces at work as well, I don’t know, who is funding this and who is coordinating this? Because this is crazy, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Musk described the attacks as “deranged” and claimed they were a direct response to his efforts to slash $2 trillion in government spending through DOGE.
“It turns out when you take away people’s— you know, the money they’re receiving fraudulently, they get very upset.”
Violence Against Tesla Escalates
Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the attacks “domestic terrorism” following an arson at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas. Authorities said Molotov cocktails were used and the word “RESIST” was spray-painted at the scene. Other reports describe bullets fired into Tesla vehicles and dealerships across multiple locations.
Musk responded:
“They basically want to kill me because I’m stopping their fraud. And they want to hurt Tesla because we’re stopping this terrible waste and corruption in the government.”
Musk: “We’re Slashing $2 Trillion in Government Waste”
Musk linked the violence to his aggressive reforms at DOGE:
“It turns out when you take away people’s— you know, the money they’re receiving fraudulently, they get very upset.”
“This extreme amount of hatred and violence is because we’re actually succeeding in getting rid of corruption and waste.”
As head of DOGE, Musk claimed to have cut $2 trillion in unnecessary government spending, aligning with President Trump’s fiscal policies.
“If we were not succeeding in getting rid of corruption and waste, they wouldn’t care.”
Praise for Trump’s Administration
Musk defended the Trump administration’s efforts to rein in federal spending.
“President Trump gave me the tools to do this job. We’re not going back to the era of reckless spending.”
He hinted at deeper political motivations behind the backlash:
“I think there are larger forces at work here as well… I mean, I don’t know who’s funding this and who’s coordinating this.”
Optimism Amid Chaos
Despite the violence, Musk celebrated a major success: the safe return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams via a SpaceX capsule after nine months on the ISS.
“We’re really testing the very edge of human ability here, the very edge of material science, and it’s kind of amazing that humans can do this at all.”
He added:
“Hopefully for people out there this is a moment of optimism about the future, a moment of excitement about the future, and it portends great things for America and humanity in space.”
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