Man accused of vandalizing Teslas in Massachusetts arrested
A man accused of vandalizing several Tesla vehicles in the Boston suburb of Brookline appeared in court on Thursday.
They said 39-year-old Harrison Grant Randall of Roslindale tagged the electric cars with Elon Musk stickers.
Suspect said it's "free speech"
Brookline police released cell phone video Tuesday showing the moment a Tesla driver confronted a man who allegedly vandalized his car.
"It's my free speech," the man responded.
Adam Choi was leaving church in Brookline Sunday when he said he saw the man putting stickers on Teslas.
"I'm just really shocked and confused," said Choi. "You can tell me your opinions but don't vandalize my car."
Choi said that this adds another level of anxiety to being a Tesla owner. "I didn't know what was going to happen next," he said. "This time stickers, and I have heard some Teslas have been spraypainted. So, I was really worried."
Suspect charged
Within hours of police releasing the video, the man in it was identified by investigators as Harrison Grant Randall. He's now charged with six counts of defacing property.
Randall was arrested Wednesday night. Bail was set at $2,500.
"This is clearly not free speech," said Brookline Police Deputy Paul Campbell. "You can say whatever you want, you can post whatever you want on social media. You can't go around damaging other people's property."
Brookline Police said Randall vandalized multiple Teslas in the area.
Gillian was the driver of one of those vehicles. She says she was shocked by what happened. "No one's ever, you know, yelled, you know, anything in reference to Tesla or Elon Musk," Gillian said.
She was renting the car at the time and was looking for an environmentally friendly option. She says the experience left her feeling shaken. "When I started looking around checking my whereabouts, of course I was terrified. It just shocked me," Gillian said.
Brookline Police are telling Tesla drivers to exercise extra caution amid these reports.
A pre-trial hearing for Randall is scheduled for May.
Recent Tesla vandalism reports
There have been other reports of vandalism targeting Tesla products in recent weeks. Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed President Donald Trump and is now the head of the president's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In Littleton on Monday, police said seven Tesla charging stations were intentionally set on fire and the incident is being investigated as suspicious.
A Massachusetts doctor told WBZ-TV last month he has been threatened because he drives a gold Tesla Cybertruck. Someone put a profane sticker on the vehicle, and when he posted a photo of it on social media the man told police he started getting threats online.
