Man Arrested in Auckland Vehicle Vandalism Case
A 52-year-old man has been arrested in Auckland in connection to the spray-painting of multiple electric vehicles, according to police.
Since March 9th, law enforcement has received six reports of deliberate damage to vehicles. The targeted vehicles, primarily Teslas and Polestars, were located in various Auckland suburbs, including Mt Eden, Freemans Bay, Grey Lynn, and Ponsonby.
In some instances, the vandal was captured on CCTV cameras while committing the acts.
A police spokesperson confirmed that the man is in custody and that charges are under consideration.
The Herald reported on Monday that a Tesla in Ponsonby and a Polestar in Mt Eden had their number plates, brake lights, and emblems spray-painted. CCTV footage showed an individual casually emerging from the darkness with a spray paint can.
Three additional victims contacted The Herald on Tuesday, describing comparable attacks that had rendered their vehicles undriveable. One individual’s Tesla had to be towed because the spray paint made it inoperable.
“One man’s Tesla had to be towed after the spray paint rendered it undriveable.”
The clothing worn by the person in the surveillance footage matched the earlier footage, leading owners to think they were targeted by the same individual.
A Freemans Bay resident reported that they discovered their car vandalized with pink paint when they were leaving for work at 5:30 am. The car’s damage, including a scribble over the driver’s side window, paint over the headlights, number plates, wing mirrors, and a long line down the side, was similar to that observed on other targeted vehicles.
“An image of a Tesla that was vandalised with spray paint while parked on Ponsonby Rd was shared to social media yesterday morning.”
Another resident in Grey Lynn reported that their Polestar was also spray-painted, rendering it undriveable. Sebastian Jonsson, a Mt Eden resident, found his Polestar, parked in his driveway, covered in blue paint, making the car undriveable.
This case has occurred while there have been other incidents involving vandalism of Tesla vehicles. In the US, a woman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership in Colorado. According to court documents, she repeatedly visited the car lot and once spray-painted “Nazi” under the dealership’s sign. She also threw bottles filled with petrol at the electric vehicles.
In Maryland, vandals spray-painted “No Musk” onto a Tesla building alongside a swastika-like symbol. In Oregon, a man fired at a Tesla storefront with a semiautomatic weapon, and a few weeks earlier, he had thrown Molotov cocktails at the same dealership, causing an estimated US$500,000 in damages.
Additional reporting by Washington Post.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
