Summary
A suspect vandalized and set fire to Teslas at a Las Vegas Collision Center early Tuesday in what police call a “targeted attack.”
The assailant, dressed in black, shot at five vehicles, torched two, and left an undetonated Molotov cocktail. They also spray-painted “Resist” on the building.
Authorities have not confirmed a political motive but noted Elon Musk’s ties to Trump. The FBI is investigating, warning that such acts are federal crimes.
Tesla has faced backlash amid Musk’s government role and far-right politics.
Honestly, it would be funnier if someone sprayed them with muriatic acid. (Hydrochloride acid)
The damage to the metal is not fixable (as in, the rust can be cleaned away, but the damaged areas just keep re-rusting). It avoids the issue of insurance payments (just clean it, bro), and of burning the vehicles (releasing pollution). It basically marks the car for life, makes it unsellable, and, full offense, if someone buys one, they deserve a lifetime of annoying maintenance issues. Fuck their gleaming monument to fascism.
Ehhhh, that makes it a chemical terrorist attack. If it’s not classified as that now, it will be the first time it’s tried. Plus that’s significantly more dangerous than a Molotov or a gun.
You know, when I envisioned this, I imagined some person with a 5-gallon sprayer, like they use for yards/pesticides. I sort of assumed they’d be doing it alone, with no one around, and (presumably) with some knowledge/awareness of how those sprayers work - so like, protective clothing, a mask, goggles, and being upwind. But you’re right that it’s dangerous despite all that. And it’s sort of an obvious thing to be carrying around.
New mental picture of this activity: Jars that have been safely filled at home thrown from a distance while no one else is around.
Or for discretion, a tide pen that has had the contents replaced. Bonus: It will still remove stains (and the fabric).
Ultimately, however, it’s not something I’d actually entertain. I don’t see that as an effective outlet for any statement I’d like to make. Surely not for the risk/reward proposition. But it’s darn funny to think about.
Yeaaaa I was thinking melting hands and faces from back spray lol. Wait, will hydrochloric acid react to plastic? If not you’d need a glass paint pen. Also we’re both on watchlists now :) shit…
Disclaimer. Don’t actually do any of this. But yes it would be a silly skit on adult swim or something.
That’s sort of the funny thing - I think my experience/exposure to muriatic acid sort of colored how cavalier I am about it. I didn’t check precise concentrations, but a gallon can be had for $10 from a hardware store. I’ve seen guys just pour it on the floor, slosh it around with a mop, and seem to have no care whatsoever about incidental skin contact or getting it on their shoes. (They did wash their hands after, but seemed unhurried to do so.)
Not that I’m advising cavalier behavior with hydrochoric acid, but perhaps I have a shifted baseline for understanding the caution one should take. (I mean - I’ve never worked directly with it myself, so…iunno.) Also very possible the products I’ve seen are a lower concentration than the ‘bubbling, foaming, melting your face’ concentrations of HCL we might otherwise expect.
It does come in a plastic bottle - HDPE, I believe, so I think a standard paint pen would work for it. Provided the wicking material was not organic, it would probably survive just fine.
I’ve seen too many Molotov Gone Wrong videos to agree with you.
Lol amateurs. After your first emulsion incident you learn pretty quick