#TeslaTakedown

Tesla Takedown

Whether you’re aware of it or not, this coming Saturday is billed on social media as a “Tesla Takedown global day of action.”

No, there’s nothing in there threatening violence or vandalism. But three days ago, the FBI confirmed it’s set up a “task force” to look into a series of vandalism and arson cases targeting Tesla. Surely you’ve heard about some of them by now.

How did we get here?

The liberal pushback against Elon Musk and the DOGE boys began quietly enough last month — with sparsely attended protests outside Tesla dealerships.

There were also performative acts of protest like the singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow selling her Tesla and donating the proceeds… not to the poor, but rather to NPR. Priorities.

As February turned to March, people began committing scattered acts of vandalism — dealerships, charging stations, and yes, individuals’ cars. You can readily find videos on social media — some posted by victims who had surveillance footage (Teslas are equipped with cameras on all sides), others by the vandals who were proud of what they did.

“EVERYTHING is political now,” your editor lamented one day in 2020.

At the time, scads of brand-name advertisers like Coca-Cola were bowing to pressure from the left and pausing their advertising on social media because platforms like Facebook and Twitter were supposedly hotbeds of “hate speech” and “misinformation.” Facebook’s share price took a dive.

It was a perilous moment for world-class brands.

It was no longer 1989 when Coca-Cola apologized for airing a Coke spot during a raunchy episode of the sitcom Married… With Children. No one stopped buying Coke as a consequence.

It was no longer 2009 when Procter & Gamble bailed from Glenn Beck’s daily show on Fox News because Beck labeled Barack Obama a “racist.” No one stopped buying Crest as a consequence.

But by 2020, it was no longer possible for world-class brands to be all things to all people.

For a few weeks in late 2024, it seemed as if the polarizing atmosphere might be abating and the culture would settle into a new normal. There was no doubt about who won the presidential election. Many corporations were retreating from their “DEI” initiatives.

But that’s not how it’s working out now.

Indeed, we’re approaching the scenario painted by the intriguing John Robb, keeper of the Global Guerrillas page on Substack: “Imagine a world where every corporation aligns with a politicized tribal network, breaking the commercial market into two or more balkanized zones, divided by by consumer preference, supply networks, social networks, news coverage, government cooperation, etc.”

(What does it mean for Tesla’s share price right now? More about that in today’s Bullet No. 3)...

As noted above, the incidents have attracted the interest of the feds. A week ago today, the Justice Department announced charges against three people in South Carolina, Colorado and Oregon.

On the one hand, it serves as a convenient culture-war distraction for the Trump administration…

But on the other hand, it’s problematic on several levels for the feds to be poking their nose into this thing.

If they’re not careful, they’re going to trash the Constitution just so they can own the libs. Read on…

Who Are the “Domestic Terrorists” Now?

Let’s start with the president’s March 11 statement on his Truth Social site…

OK, so he’s not saying anything here about acts of property destruction. He’s denouncing mere boycotts as “illegal and collusive.”

Huh?

This is America. People have the right to not buy stuff. Furthermore, they have the right to persuade other people to not buy stuff if they object to the conduct of the company or its officers or even a random employee. It’s called the free market, and it’s called free speech.

Going by Trump’s logic, it’s easy to imagine the shoe on the other foot in an alternative timeline.

Recall last year’s campaigns by conservative activists Robby Starbuck and Christopher Rufo — successfully pressuring the likes of Walmart and Ford to abandon various “woke” endeavors.

In retrospect, it wouldn’t have been hard for a creative prosecutor at Joe Biden’s Justice Department to charge them with — well, nearly anything. Violations of the RICO statutes or maybe “false statements” or “obstructing the mails.”

Thank God that didn’t happen. Let’s pray for the sake of the rule of law that it doesn’t happen with peaceful protests of Tesla, either.

As for the less-than-peaceful protests… are they really a federal case?

Sure doesn’t sound like it with the three federal prosecutions so far — Molotov cocktails hurled at either Tesla dealerships or Tesla vehicles.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says she’s investigating whether anyone is “operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.” Assuming the planning occurs across state lines, that’s fair game for the feds. But that’s not emerged in the cases to date. And there’ve been several similar incidents that for whatever reason Bondi chose to leave to local prosecutors.

More troubling is Bondi labeling the acts of property destruction as “domestic terrorism.”

“Let this be a warning,” she said, “if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

We just got through four years of Democrats overreacting to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — throwing the book at anyone caught on camera merely walking politely between the velvet ropes inside the U.S. Capitol.

In 2022, the Biden administration was receptive to a plea from the National School Boards Association, characterizing angry parents at local school board meetings as “domestic terrorists.”

Ahead of Election Day last year, Homeland Security and the FBI issued an intelligence bulletin warning about “domestic violent extremists with election-related grievances.”

Of course, there were plenty of angry attendees at school board meetings and people with “election-related grievances” who had no violent or destructive intentions. But just their opinions put them potentially on the feds’ radar.

There’s a slippery slope here — when government officials conflate legitimate protest with acts of property destruction.

Prosecute those acts of destruction, yes — preferably at the local level. But don’t concoct a farrago of bogus federal charges and weaponize the justice system against people for having the “wrong” opinions.

Any more of it from this administration and I guarantee it will absolutely blow back on conservatives the next time a Democratic administration is in power.

We’ll leave the subject there for today. I promised earlier we’d take a look at how the protests and vandalism are affecting the investment prospects of Tesla stock. Here’s Emily with the rest of today’s 5 Bullets…

Tesla: Don’t “Sell the News”

“Many of the strongest-performing names since November sustained the biggest drawdowns over the past five weeks… Tesla (TSLA) is the perfect example,” says Paradigm’s chart hound Greg Guenthner.

“Shares broke out above the critical $270 level immediately after the election, soaring more than 80% over the next month to fresh all-time highs.

“But the news quickly turned against Elon and his flagship public company,” he says. “You couldn’t avoid the anti-Tesla sentiment — it was everywhere.

“Protesters of Elon’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took to the streets, with some even vandalizing Teslas and setting fire to dealerships.

“Former VP candidate Tim Walz also took a public jab at Elon, pulling out his phone to mock TSLA’s sinking share price at a rally last week.

“The stock suddenly topped out in December,” Greg notes, “giving back all its post-election gains into the Q1 broad market pullback.”

Greg calls it “spite selling,” in fact. “Don’t get me wrong,” he adds, “there are plenty of legitimate fundamental concerns about TSLA.”

However…

“When the selling becomes completely detached from reality, it’s a good idea to lean hard in the opposite direction,” says Greg.

“That’s exactly what happened with TSLA. The stock started to rally late last week, posting a three-day winning streak culminating with Friday’s 5% gain.

“Buyers turned up the heat to begin the new trading week, sending TSLA higher by nearly 12%.

“The stock that no one wanted to own just a week ago was Monday’s strongest-performing component in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.

“Sentiment had clearly become too stretched,” he says. “With no one left to sell, Tesla shares are now back above $270 and in a prime position to extend higher.

“Tesla wasn’t the only beaten-down stock that started rallying at the beginning of the week…

“I know conditions aren’t perfect. You might even have some serious reservations,” says Greg.

“But here’s the thing: We don’t need the stock market to rush back to all-time highs to make money.

“Just know that relief rallies can be powerful moneymaking opportunities,” he says. “Instead of hiding under a rock, [investors] should be actively looking to buy beaten-down names this week.

“Shut out the negative news… Right now, there’s an opportunity to get tactical.

“A quick screen of the best performers to start the week reveals plenty of software companies, chip stocks and other household names that are ready to launch.

“Don’t let them pass you by,” Greg cautions.

Whaddya know: TSLA shares are up 4.15% today…

That said, the three major U.S. stock indexes are in the red; the Dow, in fact, has lost 0.30% to 42,320. At the same time, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 0.15% to 17,870 while the S&P 500 is down 0.10% to 5,700.

Turning to the commodities complex, crude is barely in the green, $0.30 under $70 for a barrel of WTI. Precious metals? Both rallying. Gold is up 1.40% to $3,065 per ounce, and silver is up 2.6% to $35.10.

Bitcoin and Ethereum — also in the green. Bitcoin is up 0.85% to $87,140, and Ethereum is up 0.65% to $2,010.

Move Over, Hockey!

Canada's latest sports craze is getting served a slice of tariff drama.

Pickleball — the lovechild of tennis, badminton and table tennis — is the fastest-growing sport in North America. But now, pickleballers’ paddles are caught in the crossfire of a U.S.-Canada trade tiff.

Thanks to a 25% tariff slapped on U.S.-made paddles. But some savvy sellers are already plotting to ditch Uncle Sam and cozy up to China for their paddle fix.

For instance, Cara Arding, an online pickleball-equipment purveyor, is working directly with Chinese factories to create homegrown (sort of) Canadian paddles — meaning, designed in Canada and made in China.

Meanwhile, budget-conscious pickleballers are eyeing cheap online retailers including Chinese companies AliExpress and Temu.

But buyer beware: Not all paddles are created equal in the eyes of Pickleball Canada. So, before you go swinging that bargain-bin special, make sure it’s got the official stamp of approval.

Mailbag: Economics and Ethics

Readers respond passionately to Tuesday’s controversial, single-topic 5 Bullets, offering diverse opinions on the relationship between economic hardship and moral decision-making…

“People in financial distress often make bad decisions because they are so consumed with short-term goals — i.e. just surviving the day on limited resources — that they don’t think about future consequences,” affirms one longtime reader.

Another laments “how often people get hopelessly in debt. Unfortunately, it’s a sad commentary on our society.” Writes another: “Everybody has a breaking point. That does not mean they are career criminals.”

Not all readers, however, were sympathetic to the economic-anxiety argument. One contributor says firmly: “There is no excuse for bad behavior. Throughout history, people did without, but that didn’t necessarily lead to immoral actions.”

Instead, she blames “the culture of immediate gratification… People expect to have everything the minute they graduate from high school.”

One contributor offers wisdom from The Good Book: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread… Or I may become poor and steal. (Prov. 30: 8-9, NIV).”

Also getting biblical, a reader suggests a more radical solution, including “a world jubilee of debt forgiveness” as a potential remedy for global economic problems. And he advocates for “the elimination of the Federal Reserve and the IRS while gathering revenue via a national sales tax.”

Finally, the article — and its allusion to Les Miserables — seemed to resonate with readers. One mentioned getting “shivers up my spine” from the comparison. While another contributor described it as “nothing short of profound and sobering, from beginning to end.

“It’s a keeper,” he adds.

Thanks for hanging in there, reader, for our unusual 5 Bullets today! And take care…