Two Tesla chargers torched in Nanaimo, others damaged

Two Tesla chargers torched

Photo: VIA NANAIMO RCMP

Two Tesla charging stations in Nanaimo were set alight, while others in the bank of eight chargers across from Woodgrove Centre appeared to have been hit with a pry bar or some other blunt instrument, Nanaimo RCMP say. 

Two Tesla charging stations across from Nanaimo’s Woodgrove Centre were destroyed by arson fires while several others were damaged early Saturday.

They were part of a bank of eight chargers at the site.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue was called to the scene about 3:10 a.m. for what deputy chief Stu Kenning called an “act of vandalism.”

Kenning said the department’s investigation is complete and the case has been passed on to Nanaimo RCMP.

RCMP Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien said the damaged chargers that weren’t set on fire appeared to have been hit with a pry bar or some other blunt instrument.

No vehicles were attached to the charging stations at the time, he said, adding officers are looking for witnesses or video footage from the area.

O’Brien described the case as “wanton destruction of private property.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, and his mass layoffs of government workers as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have sparked protests aimed at Tesla.

Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations across the U.S. have been vandalized, shot at, subjected to arson attacks and targeted with protests.

“Tesla Takedown” gatherings were held in several Canadian centres on the weekend, including a protest at a Surrey Tesla dealership on Sunday after a similar one on Saturday in Vancouver.

About two dozen people at the Surrey protest held signs with such messages as “Elon be-gone” and “Elbows up.”

Anyone with information about the Nanaimo incident or with dashcam video is asked to call Nanaimo police at 250-754-2345.