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Tesla store in Colorado repeatedly vandalized and set on fire

Credit: CBS Colorado

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A Tesla store in Colorado has been the company’s latest target of vandalism of the company’s locations and products, and police say that this is the third such attempt at the site in recent weeks.

On Friday, the Loveland Police Department shared a press release highlighting an attempted arson at the city’s Tesla store. Authorities were dispatched to the Tesla location at 1606 North Lincoln Avenue around 7:00 am on Friday, after a fire is estimated to have been started around midnight, while several vehicles were also tagged.

Loveland Police said the graffiti had been “offensive and hateful in nature,” and photos on Reddit later revealed that the vandals wrote “Nazi cars” on the store’s front windows. Separate photos and video footage from CBS Colorado on Saturday also showed several vehicles tagged with large X figures over the windshields.

Along with the Friday report, police say that they were dispatched for similar incidents at the Loveland Tesla store on January 29 and February 2, though they had been of a “lesser magnitude” than the one this week. Authorities say an investigation into the vandalism is currently underway, and they are currently comparing the damage from the three incidents and working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Credit: crusadrpers0n | Reddit

Credit: CBS Colorado

You can check out the full press release from the incident below.

Credit: Loveland Police Department | X

READ MORE: Customers who boycotted Tesla Sweden are coming back: report

The news comes as the most recent vandalism efforts against the Elon Musk-led automaker, following his recent foray into U.S. government affairs as the head of President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been overseeing a team of individuals dedicated to cutting costs and exposing waste and fraud in the federal government, with recent efforts targeting agencies like USAID, the U.S. Treasury, and still others.

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Following Trump’s inauguration weeks ago and Musk’s virtual appearance at a campaign event for Germany’s controversial “Alternative for Germany” party a couple of weeks ago, vandalism events, calls for boycotts, and general animosity toward Tesla owners have seemingly seen an uptick around the world. Earlier this week, a Tesla store in the Netherlands was tagged with the words “no to nazis” and “f*ck off fascist,” along with several swastikas.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Updated 2/9: Added photo of the Tesla stores tagged front window.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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RBC cuts Tesla’s price target to $320, with a potential upside of 34%

RBC slashes its TSLA price target from $440 to $320 but still sees a potential 34% upside!

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Credit: Jim Koehler | X

RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan cut Tesla’s price target from $440 to $320. RBC is the latest firm to lower its Tesla price target. However, the RBC analyst’s new TSLA price target still represents a potential upside of 34%.

Narayan follows other TSLA analysts who have cut their price targets for the company. Goldman Sachs also lowered its Telsa price target to $320 from $345. Last week, Wells Fargo slashed its TSLA price target to $130 from $135.

Narayan kept an “Outperform” rating on Tesla’s shares. His latest Tesla price target is based on lowered expectations around the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities. “We now assume Tesla FSD pricing drops to $50/month in 2026 from $100/month today,” noted the RBC analyst.

Narayan emphasized that Tesla is facing pressure from competition in markets abroad, specifically in China. “While we do think it unwise to extrapolate too much from car demand dynamics, Tesla is losing market share in Europe and China.

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“In China, in particular, competition is intensifying. Further, on robotaxis, we think it likely that domestic OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] will dominate the market. As a result, we now lower our market share assumption to 10% from 20% in both markets,” he said.

Narayan stands in stark contrast to other analysts who have mostly based their TSLA price target cuts on its lower-than-expected Q1 2025 delivery numbers. The RBC analyst believes delivery fears have been “overblown.”

“Although sales fell sharply in Europe (45% in January) and China (60% in January and 21% in February), these regions represent a small portion of Tesla’s total sales compared to their annual figures (311k in Europe and 683k in China for ’24). Tesla’s U.S. sales, on the other hand, saw modest increases,” he noted.

The majority of analysts see Tesla’s Full Self-Driving as a positive driving force in Tesla stock. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, for example, predicts Tesla will rebound over 90% within the next year. Jonas lists Tesla’s FSD Unsupervised use in paid rideshare services in Texas as one of the catalysts for TSLA stocks to rise back up.

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Tesla is NOT done in Germany–exact same poll debunks its own “94% won’t buy Tesla” narrative

As of writing, 307,119 readers, or 69.9% of the study’s overall respondents, stated that they would still buy a Tesla.

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Credit: Romain Hedouin/X

As it turns out, news of Tesla’s demand death in Germany have been widely exaggerated. This is highlighted by the same poll that was used to frame the narrative that 94% of car buyers will not buy a Tesla in Germany.

So no, Tesla is not done in Germany. Nowhere close.

The Survey and the Reports

A look at the Tesla news cycle over the past few days would show that one of the biggest stories about the electric vehicle maker involved the results of a survey from German publication t-online. As per the reports, a survey of over 100,000 t-online readers has shown that 94% were not willing to buy a Tesla, and only a minuscule 3% were still willing to consider a vehicle from the American EV maker. 

t-online’s report on its survey, as well as articles that cited the study, related the alleged drop in Tesla interest in Germany to Elon Musk’s conservative politics. However, the survey itself received polarizing reactions among social media users since its respondents were self-selected. The poll also seemed open to everyone globally, so its results may not have been the most accurate.

These concerns, of course, were largely ignored and dismissed as the complaints of Tesla “cult” members or “stans,” as critics stated on social media. Unfortunately for Elon Musk/Tesla critics, it appears that t-online‘s Tesla poll is not done telling its story just yet.

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Ongoing Survey, Drastically Different Results

While t-online published its article about Tesla’s alleged decline in Germany after the study passed 100,000 responses, the survey itself was actually left open. Thus, despite articles stating that Tesla is done in Germany already spreading online, t-online’s survey was still gathering data from respondents. Interestingly enough, the survey started showing a drastically different narrative once it started getting more respondents.

As of writing, a total of 439,111 respondents have participated in t-online’s Tesla survey. As of writing, 307,119 readers, or 69.9% of the study’s overall respondents, stated that they would still buy a Tesla. A total of 128,643 readers, or 29.3% of the study’s respondents, stated that they would “absolutely no way” consider a Tesla. A total of 3,296 t-online readers, or 0.8% of the survey’s current respondents, stated that they “do not know” if they would like to buy a Tesla.

Keeping Things in Perspective

While one could argue that the current findings of the survey are probably astroturfed by Tesla “stans” or “cult” members, the fact remains that the poll itself was flawed to begin with. Its self-selected respondents could have been affected by bias, and the fact that it seemed open to all users across the globe suggests that the study may not have accurately represented Germany’s car buying public at all.

With this in mind, it would be unreasonable to argue that t-online‘s poll was completely accurate up to its first 100,000 respondents but inaccurate when more respondents answered the survey. The reports that emerged from the first 100,000 respondents of the poll concluded that Tesla was finished in Germany. Following the same logic, one could argue that such reports were premature, and based on updated data from the same survey, Tesla still enjoys majority support in Germany.

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BYD debuts 5-minute EV charging system

BYD debuts a 5-minute EV charging system, rivaling ICE refuel times! With a 1,000 kW peak charge, will this tech speed up global EV adoption?

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BYD-5-minute-ev-charging
(Credit: BYD)

BYD recently debuted a 5-minute electric vehicle (EV) charging system, a game-changer in the ever-growing industry.

BYD’s 5-minute EV charging system means all-electric cars can charge as fast as internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles fill up at a gas station. EV charging times remain one of the concerns consumers dwell over when transitioning from ICE to electric vehicles. BYD’s new 5-minute EV charging system might expedite electric vehicle adoption across the globe.

According to Reuters, BYD plans to build a 5-minute EV charging network across China. The Chinese automaker calls its rapid charging technology, the “super e-platform.” It can reach a peak charge of 1,000 kilowatts (kW). BYD’s super e-platform can fully charge an electric vehicle with a range of 249 miles (400 km) in 5 minutes.

BYD has developed a few technologies to create its 5-minute megawatt charging system. For instance, BYD developed batteries with a 10C charging multiplier, meaning they can charge at 10 times the cell’s capacity per hour. The Chinese automaker has also created high-power motors, high-volt silicon carbide power chips, and fast chargers that support 1,000 kW of power.

Tesla, which would be BYD’s biggest competition in the EV charging space, has a 400-volt system that can charge up to 250 kW for its EVs. The Tesla Cybertruck uses an 800-volt architecture with a maximum rate of 350 kW. Meanwhile, the Tesla Semi truck has a 1,000-volt powertrain.

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BYD’s 5-minute megawatt charging system could make significant waves in the EV industry. However, it would depend on the super e-platform’s compatibility with other EVs.

Tesla has managed to open its Supercharger Network to non-Tesla EVs, helping it grow and reach new customers. The company has also managed to get other EV makers to adopt its NACS connectors, at least in the United States. It would be interesting to see if BYD can gather as much support for its rapid charging system in China and among Chinese EV manufacturers.

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