I have noted with alarm the attacks on Tesla dealerships, chargers and judgy looks directed at Tesla owners.

I’m not fond of Elon Musk, his brand of politics, his business practises, nor his propensity for encouraging his Twitter twits to attack Musk haters.

That said, when you torch Tesla chargers, damage a showroom or disrespect someone for their choice of vehicle, you are not “sticking it to the man,” but instead encouraging lawlessness, unrest and fear.

You don’t like Musk? Then don’t listen to him or vote for anyone like him, and don’t buy his vehicles.

But obey the law — as naive as it sounds, the law is the only thing protecting a civil society from Musk and Musk wannabes.

Ken McFarlan

Victoria

Re: “Think of the good done by Elon Musk,” letter, March 18

The letter praises Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, for having “volunteered” to help reduce America’s budget deficit.

More to the point, it appears Musk spent US$250 million to get Donald Trump elected, and then asked for keys to the U.S. government — where he has arbitrarily fired tens of thousands of public servants and decimated federal institutions that exist to serve and protect American citizens.

DOGE first fired air traffic controllers, dam operators and nuclear safety inspectors, before realizing they were essential workers and attempted to re-hire some. Next up is slashing Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service (thus making it easier for the wealthiest Americans to avoid paying taxes).

As to Musk’s supposed altruistic motivations, it’s been noted that the U.S. government has spent billions of tax dollars on his business empire. And while at least 11 federal agencies have more than 30 ongoing investigations into Musk’s companies (think exploding Space X rockets), DOGE is pushing to dismantle these agencies, throwing into question the outcome of their pending investigations.

It’s been most galling to see a man worth some US$330 billion attempting to shut down USAID, an agency that has saved millions of lives worldwide.

Countless lives will be lost if he succeeds. Maybe it’s this casual cruelty that explains Musk’s support for Germany’s rising........

© Times Colonist