SWEDEN.
What a strange world we live in

Sabotage against Tesla and mountain travelers: 'Fascism'
Published 2026-02-21

Tesla's temporary charging station in Vansbro was knocked out during the night Thursday when someone poured water into all the charging handles so they froze to ice. At the site, a banner was also left with a clear political hate message against Tesla and company owner Elon Musk.

During the winter holiday period, charging opportunities in Dalarna are particularly important for mountain traffic. In Vansbro, Tesla had opened eight charging points adjacent to a grocery store, with a makeshift solution because the station is not plugged into the power grid.

But the night of Thursday, the chargers were rendered unusable when water was poured into the handles and froze. The result was that travelers – even with models of cars other than Tesla – were met by a station that could not be used, in the middle of one of the most intense travel weeks of the year. It reports, among other things, Siljan News.

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Hatic banner set the subject

The sabotage was supplemented with a hostile message that connects the event to the political and union conflict that is going on around Tesla in Sweden. On the banner stood: “No to unions? No to fascism and strike crime. Go home Elon.”
Picture: Private.

The political hate message is aimed at the company and its owners, but third parties – motorists and local businesses – are the ones who have suffered the consequences.

Police said Tesla had not reported the attack when SVT paid attention to it on Friday morning. Criminal classifications that are normally considered for this type of action are vandalism, sabotage or causing danger depending on the circumstances.
Conflict with weak union anchorage

The political message on the spot ties in with the long-winded Swedish Tesla conflict, where combat and blockades were staged by the LO-affiliated trade union IF Metall. At the same time, there are signs that the conflict is not straightforward even internally in the fork.

READ ALSO: Tesla strike: Members fleeing union IF Metall

IF Metall has lost members and some of the dissatisfaction is said to members not sympathize with the combat measures against Tesla. Relatively few employees have wanted to participate in the strike – those who on the current banner are called strikebreakers.

In interviews and testimonies, this has been justified by the fact that you have salaries and conditions that are perceived as equivalent to or better than what a collective agreement with LO would provide.