Two people have been arrested after a Tesla car dealership in Montreal was vandalized on Wednesday, adding to the growing global number of incidents targeting the electric vehicle manufacturer.
Montreal police say they received a 911 call at 10 a.m. regarding the incident at the the dealership in the city’s Côte-Des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-De-Grâce borough.
Police say when they arrived to the pink spray painted building, they arrested two 21-year-old men. Both suspects were released later in the day with a promise to appear in court in May.
Activist group Last Generation Canada said it was behind the defacing of the building in a statement sent to Global News. This is the same group that blocked the Jacques-Cartier Bridge last fall in a climate action protesting the fossil fuel industry.
The group said it is demanding that Canada “stand up to Tesla’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, who is destroying democracies and spreading climate denial.”
The statement says the group is also calling on the Canadian government to create a Climate Disaster Protection Agency to help Canadians whose homes, communities, lives and livelihoods have been destroyed by extreme weather — such as wildfires and floods — caused by fossil fuels.
“[We] want the government to pay for the agency by levying punitive taxes against the ultra-rich, who are overwhelmingly responsible for the climate crisis.”
“Canadians remain unprotected in the face of climate disaster and threats posed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The social contract is broken – it’s time for Canadians to disrupt business as usual to ensure our protection and make the rich pay for what they’ve done,” the statement reads.
The action joins a growing international movement against Musk and his electric vehicle manufacturer since U.S. President Donald Trump appointed him with overseeing the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is cutting government spending.
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In recent weeks, Tesla showrooms, fleets, charging stations and privately-owned cars have been targeted, and dozens of protests have been held outside Tesla dealerships and factories in North America and Europe.
On Tuesday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said he was shocked by the rising number of protests against his electric vehicle company.
During an interview with Fox News’ host Sean Hannity, the tech billionaire said, “It’s really come as quite a shock to me that there is this level of hatred and violence from the left.”
Trump has called the vandalism against Tesla “domestic terrorism” and threatened retaliation against those targeting the company, warning that they would “go through hell.”
–with files from Rachel Goodman and La Press Canadienne
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
