Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
A fire at a Tesla dealership on the outskirts of the Italian capital destroyed at damaged 17 vehicles and destroyed another 7 early Monday, according to Italian fire authorities. No injuries were reported, and the facility was unoccupied at the time.
The blaze partially damaged the structure where the vehicles were stored, the fire brigade said. The cause of the fire in Rome remains under investigation. Authorities have not ruled out arson. Local police said they have interviewed the dealership’s owners and are reviewing surveillance footage.
“Surveillance footage from the dealership may be reviewed as soon as possible to determine whether someone managed to enter the parking area to start the fire,” local media outlet Corriere reported.
The Italian right-wing leader and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended earlier this year Elon Musk’s growing involvement in politics. Despite the protests, Tesla registered earlier this month its best week in sales since mid-2024 with about 600 new vehicles insured.
Tesla has faced escalating politically motivated attacks across North America and Europe. Demonstrations have occurred and service centers have been targeted in the US, Canada and multiple European countries, linked to Musk’s role in the U.S. administration.
Over the weekend, protests erupted in several US cities. Responding to those incidents, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Sure is insanely ironic that the people shooting bullets into Tesla stores, burning down cars and generally being violent are calling me a Nazi when I have done literally zero violence at all.”
Earlier this month, more than 80 vehicles were damaged at Tesla’s largest service center in Ontario, Canada. In Las Vegas, a 36-year-old man was arrested in connection with an arson attack that destroyed multiple Teslas at a service facility.
“These evil attacks” amount to “terrorism,” Musk wrote in a separate post. “Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve” them.
During a visit to Washington in early March, Musk delivered a Tesla vehicle to Donald Trump and said the company “commits to doubling vehicle production in the US within 2 years” to “demonstrate confidence” in the future of the country.
As reported earlier this Monday, Tesla’s production of the Cybertruck has fallen to its lowest level in at least four quarters, according to the data analyst TroyTeslike who cited VIN data.
Production of the premium Model S and Model X vehicles at Tesla’s Fremont factory has dropped to its lowest point in over three years, as the company prepares to launch refreshed versions of both models.
Tesla last week released its internal delivery consensus for the first quarter, showing that 27 Wall Street analysts expect the company to report 377,592 vehicle deliveries. That would mark Tesla’s lowest quarterly result since Q3 2022, when it delivered 343,830 units. It would also represent a 2.4% decline from a year earlier.
First quarter figures are expected to be announced on Wednesday, April 2.
