Libération / Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Since September, a strange phenomenon has hit the streets of the Deux-Sèvres prefecture: about once a month, a vehicle from Elon Musk’s factories catches fire. “Libé” followed the pyromaniac’s footsteps until he was found [A Libé writer posted an ad about Indy Nantes and the compas were kind enough to reply; NdAtt.]
The thick smoke from Ivana’s electronic cigarette crashes against the window of her Tesla. “When I park it now, I choose a place where there’s a lot of traffic and cameras,” explains the twenty-something. In Niort (Deux-Sèvres), where this saleswoman works, a strange phenomenon has been roaming the streets since September. At least once a month, somewhere in town, a car from the famous American brand catches fire in the dead of night. A sort of Russian roulette of burnt-out tires. A werewolf game with a burnt-out car. In the parking lot alone, where her electric vehicle is refueled, the flames raged in October, and since then, no driver has risked taking the time off to recharge. The young woman is furious: “It’s shameful, we don’t burn cars for political reasons, just as we don’t buy a Tesla for Elon Musk.”
Faced with these serial fires, the hypothesis of an anti-Musk action is the first to be considered. Demonstrations, scratched vehicles, burning dealerships… In recent times, the damage done to the billionaire’s brand has been mounting as a result of the antics of its big boss. Especially since the Nazi salute by Trump’s right-hand man in January. Support for the far right and outright cuts in US administrations are, moreover, one of the explanations for Tesla’s 13% drop in sales in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year, and the collapse of the Austin-based brand’s share price by more than half since its record high on December 17, 2024. But in the case of Niort, doubt still hangs in the air: is the richest man in the world the target of the perpetrator, who is still wanted?
For a start, the dates don’t coincide: the first fires took place long before the big boss’s controversial gesture. Secondly, in addition to the dozen or so burnt-out Teslas, at least two luxury vehicles were also targeted. A Porsche and an Aston Martin. In the city’s beige streets, blackish marks now blend into the scenery. Here on charred branches, there on a once immaculate palisade. Libé followed these traces and traced them back to Niort’s serial arsonist.
Stéphan’s jinx
Right now, a lot of people are giving Stéphan a hard time. Colleagues, for one. “They asked me if I’d tried barbecuing,” says the construction salesman and vegetarian. And the firemen, too. “You again?” they taunted him on March 10. For the second time in a few months, the firemen put out a blaze just down the road from his home on the Route d’Aiffres. Once again, the flames reduced a white Tesla, his company vehicle, to ashes.
The first time was on September 15. “My neighbors had heard noises and voices, but at first I thought it was accidental”, says the forty-something with thin glasses. By the second Tesla HS, the doubt had dissipated. That night, the police arrived, very annoyed. Twenty minutes earlier, their patrol had passed the allée du Niortais without observing anything unusual. “We’ve been keeping an eye on all Tesla cars for some time now,” the officers explain.
By this time, they had also been looking for the culprit for some time. Since September, the Niort public prosecutor’s office has been investigating “wilful destruction by fire”. But for the time being, the serial arsonist continues to evaporate. Without ever leaving a clue as to his motives. From his living room, Stéphan has a view of the still-charred parking space. He looks wistfully at a bush that has also been hit: “The leaves hid the road in summer… It’s a shame.” At his feet, his dog, a shih tzu with matted hair, sighs in unison.
Continue reading “Niort, France: “Direct action will continue as long as I live…”.”