In protest against Elon Musk, a man from South Carolina, USA, wanted to burn down one of Tesla's charging stations. He ended up setting himself on fire instead.
A man has attempted to set fire to a Tesla charging station in South Carolina. He wanted to burn down the Supercharger completely – instead, he ended up setting himself on fire.
Because when the man tried to set fire to the Supercharger station in the city of North Charleston, he threw a burning bottle at the chargers.
According to the authorities, before the attack, the man had home-brewed a Molotov cocktail, which he had spray-painted with the message; "Long live Ukraine" in addition to a greeting to US President Donald Trump.
This is reported by the Toronto Sun.
The local police in North Charleston have handed over the case to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The perpetrator ran from the scene, leaving the Tesla charger in flames.
The fire department also managed to get the fire in the charging station under control. However, it is not yet known how much damage has been done.
But this is not the first time a Tesla charging station has been the target of an arson attack. Previously, chargers in both Massachusetts and France have been targeted by arson. In France, an alleged fire at a Tesla dealership led to very large financial losses.
Tesla has not issued a statement regarding the incident in South Carolina, but the company has previously repaired damage to fire-damaged charging stations in a very short time, with new stands and cables ready within 48 hours.
Boosted is following the case and will follow up if/when more information becomes available about the damage and whether Tesla can repair it.
The man, who several witnesses saw trying to set fire to the charging stations in North Charleston, fled before police arrived. However, he ran from the scene with flames on his clothes.
"His clothes caught fire, then he quickly ran away from the scene," witnesses reportedly told police when law enforcement arrived.