16 Tesla EVs are set on fire in Rome as Italian police investigate possible arson

A Tesla vehicle has a sticker displayed on the rear trunk in Rome, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME — Italian police are investigating as possible arson a fire that destroyed more than a dozen Tesla electric vehicles at a dealership on the outskirts of Rome early Monday.

Tesla Italy said that it is cooperating with police, and that it had turned over surveillance video from the vehicles themselves. The cars’ internal video operates even when they are off.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene counted 16 burned cars.

Tesla has been the target of protests around the world against owner Elon Musk’s affiliation with the Trump administration. European sales of Tesla vehicles tumbled 49 per cent in the first two months of the year even as overall sales of EVs grew.