PEABODY — A man was arrested early Tuesday morning for throwing paint on eight Tesla vehicles parked at the Northshore Mall Tesla dealership.
According to Capt. Eric Zawecki, the Peabody Police Department, received a call from an employee shortly after 9 a.m. about an individual wearing a navy blue hoodie, red sweatpants, and a backpack, throwing paint on vehicles in the parking lot.
When multiple units responded, the man, 28-year-old Gardy Pierre, fled on foot.
“There was a brief foot pursuit through the parking lot of the Northshore Mall, and one male party was taken into custody by officers on scene,” Zawecki said. “He was charged with eight felony counts of defacing or damaging property and one count of disturbing the peace.”
This incident follows a trend of vandalism against Tesla vehicles in protests against CEO Elon Musk’s actions with the Department Of Government Efficiency in the first few months of the Trump Administration.
A similar incident occurred in Dedham last month, where three Tesla vehicles had their tires slashed and were spray painted at a Tesla sales and service center.
March also saw the Peabody Tesla dealership become the scene of multiple peaceful demonstrations by locals to express their frustrations with Musk’s involvement in the federal government.
The Daily Item reached out to Peabody Tesla, but they did not comment on the incident.
