Italian Police Enhance Security Measures at Tesla Dealerships Following Destruction of 17 Cars in Rome Fire

The Italian Ministry of Interior has instructed police across the country to step up security at Tesla dealerships following a fire in Rome that destroyed 17 electric vehicles manufactured by Elon Musk’s company.

The Digos, an anti-terrorism force within the Italian state police, is investigating whether anarchists were behind the fire at a Tesla dealership in Torre Angela, a suburb of Rome.

Firefighters spent hours extinguishing the flames early Monday. Drone footage showed a line of charred vehicles in the dealership’s parking lot. Musk referred to the incident as “terrorism” on his social media platforms.

Italy is home to 13 Tesla dealerships managed by the parent company, with most located in cities like Rome, Florence, and Milan.

A source within the interior ministry indicated that they are alerting authorities to the possibility of anti-Tesla protests amidst a global trend of vandalism in response to Musk’s political involvement in the US. Surveillance at dealerships will be increased as needed.

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Since Donald Trump’s presidency began, Musk has reduced government employees as part of his “government efficiency” initiative, leading to the establishment of the “Tesla Takedown” boycott movement that started in the US and spread to Europe.

While most protests have been peaceful so far, Tesla dealerships and vehicles are increasingly becoming targets of vandalism. In Germany, seven vehicles were vandalized at dealerships in Ottersburg, and in Sweden, two Tesla stores—one in Stockholm and another in Malmö—were destroyed with orange paint.

Musk has fostered ties with far-right leaders in Europe, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who praised him as “a great man.” Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right league in Italy, expressed solidarity with Musk following the incident in Rome.

“There is unwarranted animosity towards Tesla,” Salvini stated.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Car dealerships in US and Canada face third consecutive day of shutdown due to cyberattack

A cyber outage at a major retail software provider for auto dealerships entered its third day on Friday, causing delays in car sales across North America, the affected company said, with software provider CDK saying there is no end in sight.

“The CDK outage is affecting auto dealers across the United States and Canada, including some BMW Group dealers,” a BMW North America spokesman told Reuters.

CDK, which provides a range of software to auto dealerships, said it experienced another cyber incident on Wednesday that caused it to proactively shut down most of its systems, but that it is working to restore services and get dealers’ business back to normal soon. CDK sent a letter The company responded to customers by saying that it was unclear how long it would take to resolve the issue.

The company did not disclose in its statement how many dealerships would be affected. But according to its website, CDK works with more than 15,000 retailers in North America. Representatives from major automakers including Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz said: Confirmed by Bloomberg They were working with dealers affected by the outage.

“Dealers are extremely committed to protecting customer information and are proactively receiving information from CDK to help determine the nature and scope of the cyber incident and respond appropriately,” the National Automobile Dealers Association said. Independently owned car dealer Holman also said the outage affected its phone system.

Investment firm Brookfield Business Partners acquired CDK in April 2022 for $6.41 billion in cash, taking private the last major publicly traded company that provides software to auto dealerships and manufacturers.

Source: www.theguardian.com