A group has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that left several Tesla electric vehicles and chargers burned. A police investigation into the incidents is currently underway.
Earlier this month, reports from Germany indicated that the Berlin fire department had responded to several car fires. Among the vehicles that were destroyed were two Teslas. As noted in a report from BZ, a Tesla burned on Paula-Fürst-Straße around 2 a.m., and a few minutes later, another Tesla was on fire on An den Knabenhäuser street.
The fire department addressed the fires quickly, extinguishing the flames and cooling down the Teslas’ batteries. Both vehicles were then transported to a police quarantine parking lot. Authorities are reportedly looking into the possibility of the fires being connected, considering the proximity, time, and location of the incidents.
Interestingly enough, a post claiming responsibility for the attacks was posted on the left-wing platform de.Indymedia.org. The group listed several reasons why they opted to attack Teslas, such as Starlink’s military use, the battery materials used for Teslas, Giga Berlin’s alleged exploitation of its workers, the dangers of Sentry Mode, and Elon Musk being an “a**hole.”
Following Arson Attacks on Tesla Vehicles and Charging Stations in ?? Berlin, the police are investigating "left-wing politically motivated" Crimes
Lately, two Teslas have been set on fire and another Tesla was set on fire with an accelerant in Berlin last night, but the fire… pic.twitter.com/wNDp2xF3zi— Alex (@alex_avoigt) February 18, 2024
Following is the group’s post on de.Indymedia.org.
On February 7th, two Teslas were set on fire in Rummelsburg and on February 8th, two Tesla charging stations on Vulkanstrasse were set on fire.
We think Tesla is an ideal target for our attacks.
Because:
> Several armies use Tesla’s Starlink satellite system in their wars. Also Israel in Gaza. Also Ukraine. Tesla’s Starlink infrastructure is an important military player and attacks on Tesla can be a sign everywhere: against any war!
> Tesla is a symbol of “green capitalism”. But it is anything but green: The lithium batteries come from toxic mines in Chile and devour other rare metals, which means misery and destruction for the mining areas. “Green capitalism” stands for colonialism and land theft!
> Tesla wants to further expand its Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin. We want to defend ourselves against this! We don’t want any more Teslas on the roads! The Gigafactory became known for its extreme exploitation conditions. In addition, the factory contaminates the groundwater and uses huge amounts of the already scarce resource for its products.
> Tesla is militarizing our streets. Their cars are equipped with high-resolution cameras. In “guard mode” they film everything and everyone. Make sure to make yourself unrecognizable during actions.
> Elon Musk is an asshole!
For this reason:
Let the air out of the tires of big cars? Great.
Even better: set Teslas on fire everywhere!
A few grill lighters and spring can begin!
While acts of protest are understandable, it is quite difficult to defend the group’s actions. The Teslas that were destroyed were private property, after all, and burning cars could easily result in injuries. One could only hope that the police’s investigation bears fruit, and the individuals responsible for the incidents are eventually brought to justice.
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Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Swedish union Vision has withdrawn its sympathy blockade against Tesla’s planned service center and showroom in Kalmar. As per recent reports, the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla action might have been illegal.
Vision’s decision to pull the blockade
Vision announced the blockade in early December, stating that it was targeting the administrative handling of Tesla’s facility permits in Kalmar municipality. The sympathy measure was expected to start Monday, but was formally withdrawn via documents sent to the Mediation Institute and Kalmar Municipality last week.
As noted in a Daggers Arbete report, plans for the strike were ultimately pulled after employer group SKR highlighted potential illegality under the Public Employment Act. Vision stressed its continued backing for the Swedish labor model, though Deputy negotiation manager Oskar Pettersson explained that the Vision union and IF Metall made the decision to cancel the planned strike together.
“We will not continue to challenge the regulations,” Petterson said. “The objection was of a technical nature. We made the assessment together with IF Metall that we were not in a position to challenge the legal assessment of whether we could take this particular action against Tesla. Therefore, we chose to revoke the notice itself.”
The SKR’s warning
Petterson also stated that SKR’s technical objection to the Vision union’s planned anti-Tesla strike framed the protest as an unauthorized act. “It was a legal assessment of the situation. Both for us and for IF Metall, it is important to be clear that we stand for the Swedish model. But we should not continue to challenge the regulations and risk getting judgments that lead nowhere in the application of the regulations,” he said.
Vision ultimately canceled its planned blockade against Tesla on December 9. With Vision’s withdrawal, few obstacles remain for Tesla’s long-planned Kalmar site. A foreign electrical firm completed work this fall, and Tesla’s Careers page currently lists a full-time service manager position based there, signaling an imminent opening.
Tesla Semi Program Director Dan Priestly teased the major improvements to the all-electric Class 8 truck on Thursday night, following the company’s decision to overhaul the design earlier this year.
Priestley said he drove the Semi on Thursday, and the improvements appear to be welcomed by one of the minds behind the project. “Our customers are going to love it,” he concluded.
Just drove the redesigned Semi. Our customers are going to love it. https://t.co/KZ88sf1CDL
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) December 19, 2025
The small detail does not seem like much, but it is coming from someone who has been involved in the development of the truck from A to Z. Priestley has been involved in the Semi program since November 2015 and has slowly worked his way through the ranks, and currently stands as the Director of the program.
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
Tesla made some major changes to the Semi design as it announced at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that it changed the look and design to welcome improvements in efficiency.
Initially, Tesla adopted the blade-like light bar for the Semi, similar to the one that is present on the Model Y Premium and the Cybertruck.
Additionally, there are some slight aesthetic changes to help with efficiency, including a redesigned bumper with improved aero channels, a smaller wraparound windshield, and a smoother roofline for better aero performance.
All of these changes came as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on Gigafactory Nevada’s property, was finishing up construction in preparation for initial production phases, as Tesla is planning to ramp up manufacturing next year. CEO Elon Musk has said the Semi has attracted “ridiculous demand.”
The Semi has already gathered many large companies that have signed up to buy units, including Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., which have been helping Tesla test the vehicle in a pilot program to test range, efficiency, and other important metrics that will be a major selling point.
Tesla will be the Semi’s first user, though, and the truck will help solve some of the company’s logistics needs in the coming years.
Tesla is dominating in the United Kingdom so far through 2025, and with about two weeks left in the year, the Model Y and Model 3 are leading the way.
The Model Y and Model 3 are the two best-selling electric vehicles in the United Kingdom, which is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and it’s not particularly close.
According to data gathered by EU-EVs, the Model Y is sitting at 18,890 units for the year, while the Model 3 is slightly behind with 16,361 sales for the year so far.
The next best-selling EV is the Audi Q4 e-tron at 10,287 units, lagging significantly behind but ahead of other models like the BMW i4 and the Audi Q6 e-tron.
GOOD NEWS 🇬🇧 Tesla is absolutely crushing the UK electric vehicle market in 2025 💥
The numbers are in, and the dominance is clear. With an impressive amount of 42,270 vehicles delivered year-to-date, the brand now commands a solid 9.6% market share of the total auto market 🆒… pic.twitter.com/dkiGX9kzd0
— Ming (@tslaming) December 18, 2025
The Model Y has tasted significant success in the global market, but it has dominated in large markets like Europe and the United States.
For years, it’s been a car that has fit the bill of exactly what consumers need: a perfect combination of luxury, space, and sustainability.
Both vehicles are going to see decreases in sales compared to 2024; the Model Y was the best-selling car last year, but it sold 32,610 units in the UK. Meanwhile, the Model 3 had reached 17,272 units, which will keep it right on par with last year.
Tesla sold 50,090 units in the market last year, and it’s about 8,000 units shy of last year’s pace. It also had a stronger market share last year with 13.2 percent of the sales in the market. With two weeks left in 2025, Tesla has a 9.6 percent market share, leading Volkswagen with 8 percent.
The company likely felt some impact from CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration and, more specifically, his role with DOGE. However, it is worth mentioning that some months saw stronger consumer demand than others. For example, sales were up over 20 percent in February. A 14 percent increase followed this in June.
Tesla gets a win in Sweden as union withdraws potentially “illegal” blockade
Tesla Semi program Director teases major improvements
