George Hunter, The Detroit News
Police are monitoring the Somerset Collection mall and its Tesla gallery amid a wave of violence aimed at Tesla vehicles and showrooms across the United States and overseas, a Troy police official said.
Multiple incidents targeting Tesla showrooms, lots, charging stations and private vehicles have been reported since President Donald Trump took office and appointed Tesla owner Elon Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that the president and tech tycoon said is cutting wasteful or fraudulent government spending.
Peaceful demonstrations have also been held to protest the government cuts, which some critics said eliminate important government programs, including a planned protest at the Somerset Collection Sunday, Troy Police Lt. Ben Hancock said Wednesday. He said he expects more demonstrations.
There are two Tesla vehicles displayed in the mall, Hancock said.
Multiple Teslas vandalized with swastikas at California dealership
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"We've issued BOLs ("Be on the lookout") and informational bulletins advising officers to pay close attention (to the Tesla outlet in the mall)," Hancock said. "We have a good relationship with Somerset, and we have two officers permanently assigned to the mall."
Hancock said last week's demonstration drew a smattering of protesters, and he said he expects a similar turnout for a planned picket in the mall's north lot at 1 p.m. Sunday, according to the website Action Network.
"Very few people participated," Hancock said. "I anticipate a small amount of people at other protests, too."
Trump has called the Tesla vandalism “domestic terror,” warning that anyone targeting the company are “going to go through hell.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had initiated an investigation “to see how is this being funded, who is behind this.”
“If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re coming after you,” Bondi said Friday on the Fox Business Network. In a statement Tuesday, Bondi vowed to “continue investigations that impose severe consequences,” including for “those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”
There are Tesla dealerships in West Bloomfield, Ann Arbor, in the Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids, West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor locations are showrooms and service centers, while the two malls feature small galleries with only a few vehicles on display.
Phone calls to police departments in those communities were not returned, other than the Ann Arbor Police Department, whose spokesman said the Tesla dealership there is under the jurisdiction of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, which did not respond to a request for comment.