Dozen Teslas torched outside French dealership: authorities

Once again the French demonstrate that they know how to raise hell.

We need to get more like the French.

There was a post here the other day asking if vandalism was OK because someone wrote something with their finger on a muddy swasticar.

Now this is vandalism. Or possibly an accident, batteries like to burn violently and Tesla isn't known for build quality or safety...
Guess you haven't seen https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/39116529
- Well, that's a start.
  
  Also, describing Molotov cocktails as "explosive devices" seems just a little misleading.

Probably the batteries, yeah?

Yeah, lithium batteries are well known fire hazards.

And once they get going, they get going, google thermal runaway for some interesting videos.

To fight a thermal runaway you need to cool it down fast, ice is commonly recommanded.
- I think all the ice is being used to kick out illegal immigrants though.
- EV fires are fought by flooding (most commonly)
- So would a snow machine work ?
- Ohhh, ice for the required melting energy? I thought that would be offset by the more difficult handling and lower flow rates. Interesting.

France is literally protesting better than the USA over our own issues...

It's because your issues are everyone's issues.
- Yeah - I just wish our leaders (Democrat ones) would call for protests at least. It would help. Instead we twiddle our thumbs as our institutions are destroyed. I haven't heard of a single protest for the tariffs today that nobody wants but Trump and Putin...

Only 12? C'mon France we know you can do much better. Try again.

Hey let's be real.

Ain't no protest like a French protest.

They'll do better. Patience.
- I'll believe it when they chop teslas in half with a giant blade.
What have you done lately?
- Made comments on the internet, obviously.
Call that a "breaker's dozen".
Nah, we put things on fire only when some random dealer get shot by a cop.

I’ve heard the best thing people can do against Musk is to vandalise privately purchased Teslas. I’ve heard that will put mass fear in the market not to buy them.

I’ve heard that vandalising commercially owned Teslas will only result in insurance payouts and more Teslas being made.

I’ve heard that the best way to vandalise privately owned Teslas is to use spray paint, which is relatively easy to clean off (not hurting the owner too much) while being very media-affective.

That’s what I’ve heard.

The insurance premiums of the commercial ones will increase by a lot of this happens too much.
- In my country private insurance is way higher on Teslas than other models already, apparently a mix of them being valuable, high risk of accident/theft, and impossible to repair from small fender benders driving cost of replacements up.
Or removing its windshield wiper (its the giant stick on one side of the windshield)
- Couldn't they just put a new one on easily?
Smh you should tell that to the fools in the thread about the lady in Colorado. They seem quite oblivious to this
- Why would I tell anyone? I’m not condoning any action of vandalism at all. It’s only what I’ve heard.
  
  Now that you’ve heard it too, you can tell others what you’ve heard without condoning it either.

Good news to start the day :)

I wish it produced less pollution, but if it kills Tesla sales in Europe its probably a net benefit.
Yes, it’s good to see something fun in a middle of all these miserable days.

The French get shit done, unlike weak Americans.

Nice.

No, Toulouse!

/s
- Ba dum tss!

C'mon, please don't generate revenue for Tesla - not even from insurance policies. It makes more sense for the cars to just stand around and rust despite the stainless steel. Nobody wants to buy from that goddamn Nazi anyway.

But hey, maybe Musk had the cars set on fire himself - that would be a rather harmless insurance scam compared to his other activities...

If it continues, insurance companies will not insure Teslas. Already happened to certain Audi and Porsche models that had subpar plating underneath. Spontaneous combustion would easily do that to Teslas.
- Yes, that's the silver lining.
- Also happened to Range Rovers once people realised they were insanely easy to steal.
  
  It got so bad that people that owned them on finance could no longer get insurance. This made a tonne of them hit the second hand market making them cheaper. Meaning people with finance couldn’t even sell the car for the money they owed on the finance.
  
  Range Rover started offering their own insurance and I did a quote for fun and they just said nah fam.
Two people on my block have bought Teslas since the inauguration :( I'm in NYC
- Tell them a random guy on the internet says they should be ashamed of themselves.
- Sounds like you found a place to put stickers.
Spray them with salt water! Accelerate that rusting process!
So you're saying to throw salt at the vehicles. Got it.

They did nazi that coming

I think - for their own safety, of course - we should gather more of these Tesla vehicles together in a central location so they can be isolated from the population at large... Perhaps in some sort of tent-based accommodation?
- Not one of your best jokes.
Nazi jokes are funny.

I bet Jewish people just love a good nazi joke.
- Jokes with the word nazi in them aren't necessarily nazi jokes.
  
  The only nazi joke right now is elon and he isn't funny.

It's true, the French are much better at revolution than Americans.

Get the nazi traitors and Putin assets out of Europe. Or at least their businesses.

That second sentence isn't needed. Get Nazis and Putin assets out of Europe.

Mdr

I don't support contributions to environmental damage caused by fires. I love the idea that Tesla cars are destroyed. It's a conundrum.

That said, I like this more than I dislike it.

People can hold contradictory beliefs at the same time

No! Now they can write them off on their insurance! They needed to have them languish unsold taking up retail space for years and learn to regret their purchase.

Naa their insurance rate is going to go through the roof! Or at least on fire.

Ooooh, lithium fires

Antifa colors.

All Tesla dealerships are all directly owned by Tesla, right?

I believe so yes https://www.cato.org/regulation/summer-2014/tesla-car-dealers-lobby

Oh no. Anyways

Setting EVs on fire is really bad for the environment. Can't people just mess up these cars by cutting cables?

Which cables are readily accessible? Which cables are readily accessible but not easily replaceable?
/me starts handing out "/s" shaped molotov cocktails
- I think these bottles would be more appropriate. Odd how Musk's tequila brand looks like an s from the SS logo. Im sure that's unintentional.
  
  https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-tequila-restocked/
  
  Edit: For those unaware this is real and as someone with a multi-decade history of collecting and selling agave spirits at retail it is fucking awful for the money.
I imagine they don't want to stick around too long
People? No. Weasles? Yes.
And have them be easily repairable?
Based on repair costs just damaging one motor should be even to scrap it.

I'm surprised this hasn't been happening in the US

It is

I think there's a better way to link Lemmy posts, but I don't know how to fix it.
They just catch fire sometimes, so it's hard to tell.

That's how you boycott something

Spring season. Fires. Expectable.

In before the shit lobs start crying about how you're only hurting the poor working class Tesla dealership owners, not Elon himself.

Good thing Tesla follows a direct sales model and their dealerships are really just company owned store rooms as opposed to some massive corporate go-between that's "only there to protect customers" while inflating financing pricing to skim $$, bolting on overpriced accessories, etc. Those massive corporate interests that spent $80.8 million lobying for their existence in 2022 are surely here to help the little guy/gal.
It's already here.

I've seen assholes right here on lemmy decrying "I bought one before I knew he was a POS! How dare you imply I should sell it!"

Same fuckers crawl out of the woodwork to defend food delivery apps because "but some people need them!"

The reality is Americans are soft as fuck and are not ready for the hard times that are coming.

I wasn't there though... Do it again so I can see.

If the finances there work the way I expect they do, if it was political activists upset about Elon Musk who burned the cars, that probably doesn't have a lot of negative impact on Elon Musk.

My guess is that the dealership owned the cars, and that they're probably insured on top of that. The insurer pays. So the net effect is going to be a tiny amount of upwards pressure in French auto insurance costs. The dealership will use insurance money to go buy replacement Teslas. Thus, Tesla will get several more sales, paid for by the French public.

Why did the dealership buy more Teslas with that money instead of a different brand?
- Do dealers not deal with a single manufacturer in france?
That only holds true, if no more than a tiny amount of Teslas in dealerships start burning. However if many start burning, insurance will drop coverage, dealers will look to sell other cars, and Tesla will loose serious revenue.
This risk is unique to Teslas. So if an insurer applied the cost to all brands, they would create an adverse selection problem where Tesla owners buy the subsidized insurance at a greater rate, and other car owners would be driven to the competition.

This is why they ask so many questions when insuring your car, like if it's a red Ferrari. Eeeeeverything goes into the algorithm.

A dozen? That’s it? They can do better than that.

That's a shame. /Seinfeld

The Americans: Leave a strongly worded note on the dashboard.

The French: Light that shit up!

Nice

Get these French folks to Grünheide ASAP!

Insurance payout likely softens Tesla’s blow; pointless destruction.

🐱🐱🐱

Until insurance makes you uninsurable.
This dude has never dealt with insurance claims.

They must really hate that dealerships insurance company. I don't think that even registeres with Elon.

To hurt them you have to strike closer to home.