Amid worldwide protests against Tesla due to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the company, a website has surfaced with address and contact information of thousands of Tesla owners. And the same site says that the only way to get off the list is to prove that you’ve sold your car.
Protests against Tesla started in February, with groups picketing outside stores across North America and elsewhere.
The protesters have been pretty clear in their reasoning why – they’re not fans of Elon Musk and his recent actions.
In case you’ve been under a rock, Musk has been meddling in politics recently, after being radicalized by his twitter feed which he is hopelessly addicted to. It started with a nine-figure bribe to a convicted felon’s presidential campaign, which many thought would produce results in the form of corruption after said felon wandered back into the Oval Office (despite that there exists a clear legal remedy for insurrectionists), and appointed Musk to a fake and redundant government department which has so far expectedly failed to produce any meaningful results.
This meddling is predictably not working out great so far for Tesla, the business which produced the vast majority of Musk’s wealth and which he is still, somehow, the titular leader of.
It turns out, people don’t particularly like it when you’re part of an administration that dedicates itself to poisoning Americans, raising their costs, and harming US industry, among all the other ill-considered actions going on at the federal level. The administration Musk is a part of is actively trying to make EVs more expensive and harder to charge, both of which will harm Tesla – and your air quality.
Even Elon Musk himself acknowledges that these actions are “not good for America or the world” – or at least he did, back before he forgot how climate change works.
The unambiguous Nazi salutes didn’t help either – which were not out of character for Musk, given his history of white supremacist statements and his current support for German neo-Nazis. He has since gone on to agree with a defense of Hitler’s actions in the Holocaust.
All of this has resulted in a huge drop in Tesla popularity, and along with that has come a drop in sales and the aforementioned protests, many of which are being exercised by Tesla owners and EV fans who are dismayed that the electric car company’s leadership has taken such an anti-EV turn.
There are passive protests like Tesla owners debadging their cars, and then the active ones like those who are exercising their First Amendment right to picket outside of Tesla stores.
Musk and the government he’s a part of have responded to these protests in their expected manner: by spreading misinformation with the intent of silencing the protesters’ free speech – a fundamental right which Musk has long shown disdain for.
And then, beyond that, there are… let’s say less accepted forms of protest happening in the US and elsewhere.
Today, we’re seeing a whole new type of protest – in the form of a hacker group which got access to Tesla account data and posted it all online, exposing thousands of Tesla owners’ information on the web.
Tesla owners’ information posted on protest site
The website includes a map and a snarky message stating the site’s intent – claiming that it’s a social media site for Tesla owners, rather than a protest site. But it also says that it encourages “creative expressions of protest that you can execute from the comfort of your own home.” Though, the site also uses a molotov cocktail as a cursor replacement.
Here is the text on the site (the name of the site has been redacted here, because while the information doesn’t seem particularly harmful on its own, given that most of it is public, I’d still rather not be responsible for leading people towards it):
XXXXX is the ultimate hub for enthusiasts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)! Our innovative platform allows users to explore an interactive map of DOGE landmarks.
But that’s not all! We also cater to Tesla Motors owners, providing a comprehensive resource to locate nearby service centers, showrooms, and charging stations—all at their fingertips.
Leveraging our cutting-edge artificial intelligence algorithms, XXXXX goes a step further by connecting like-minded Tesla owners with one another, facilitating a vibrant community through shared contact information.
Join us as we revolutionize the way DOGE fans and Tesla owners connect and explore!
Is XXXXX a protest platform?
If you’re on the hunt for a Tesla to unleash your artistic flair with a spray can, just step outside—no map needed! At XXXXX, we believe in empowering creative expressions of protest that you can execute from the comfort of your own home.
XXXXX neither endorses nor condemns any actions.
Before you embark on any adventure, we highly recommend checking out the No Trace Project.
I want my information removed.
Absolutely! Just provide us with proof that you’ve sold your Tesla.
Email XXXXX. We only accept scanned documents in JPG and PNG formats.
The way that the information was collected is not immediately apparent, nor does the group make any claims as to how it got the information. It may not have even come from Tesla itself, since it includes somewhat random pieces of information for each owner.
It seems to have been posted by an anarchist group, given the site’s linking to an anarchist website.
The information is categorized under different icons, with designations for Tesla stores, Superchargers, Tesla owners’ cars, and then additional people of interest – which seem to largely be known residences of staffers working at Elon Musk’s bungling government department.
A quick check of the information suggests that it is not complete – there are many Tesla owners who are not listed on the site. And most of the information seems to just be addresses, phone numbers, business names and the like – much of which is already public information. Though there are also some email addresses and social media handles associated with certain entries, which may not be public information.
Also, Tesla locations are listed – such as Superchargers and Tesla stores. These are wholly public information and can be found on Tesla’s website.
Further, some outlets have confirmed that some of the information is inaccurate.
But, if any given Tesla owner is on the list, the site offers a remedy: merely email them with a scanned document proving you sold your car, and you will be removed. We haven’t tried this out to see if it will work or not, but if any owners do, feel free to reach out to us.
Electrek’s Take
We’ve said this time and time again, but Tesla owners, on the whole, are still normal people. It’s silly to suggest that each individual owner of one of the world’s most popular cars, some of whom purchased their cars long ago, or who were just looking for the best EV they could get for a reasonable price, is somehow at fault for Elon Musk’s social media addiction and subsequent decline into madness.
Top comment by Aigars Mahinovs
And that is reason number 65 why people going into government are supposed to divest themselves from owning or managing any commercial companies.
BTW there is a long history of, for example, anti-abortion activists setting up and maintaining very detailed lists of clinics and doctors providing abortion services, including their home addresses and even gyms these people are using. Lots of doctors have been literally killed over the decades. Clinics bombed and torched.
In that context it does not look in any way out of line of typical American way of debating.
Heck, most of us at Electrek our Tesla owners ourselves, and you might have noticed lately that we don’t support what Musk is doing to harm EVs and the company he leads specifically.
Of course the anger against Musk right now is understandable and warranted. And especially so from EV fans, who on the whole are going to be disproportionately likely to support moves towards a greener planet, unlike what the administration Musk is part of has been getting up to. Plenty of Tesla owners are already selling their cars, or moving to other brands – and the top reason is because of Musk.
But, putting a target on the backs of individual owners – even if only implied, and even if nothing comes of this – isn’t a great move. We’d encourage everyone to keep the focus on Musk’s terrible leadership, the captive Tesla board that’s personally profiting while they let him destroy the brand, and the government full of incompetents who are raising your costs and bought-and-paid oil stooges who are dirtying your air, rather than random individuals.
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