Some French Tesla drivers file lawsuit over harm allegedly caused by Musk's behaviour
PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - A small group of Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab owners in France is suing the carmaker run by Elon Musk, alleging its vehicles have become "far-right totems" that are harming their reputation, the law firm representing the group said on Wednesday.
The group is seeking to terminate their lease contracts and recover legal costs at the Paris Commercial Court, citing the "direct and concrete" harm caused by Musk's public behaviour after he rallied in support of Donald Trump's presidential bid and Germany's far-right AfD party.
The group has launched the action against a backdrop of plummeting Tesla sales in core European markets including France, Britain, Germany and Italy, in some cases in protest at Musk's political activities and as customers favour Chinese electric vehicles because of their competitive prices.
"Tesla vehicles have become powerful political symbols and are now perceived as true far-right 'totems,' much to the dismay of those who purchased them solely as innovative and eco-friendly vehicles", the plaintiffs' lawyers Patrick Klugman and Ivan Terel at law firm GKA said in a statement.
Tesla Europe did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
GKA said about 10 Tesla leaseholders had joined the lawsuit.
Musk helped bankroll Trump's presidential campaign and spearheaded Trump's efforts to cut federal jobs and slash what the administration perceived as wasteful public spending.
Musk's involvement in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saw him become a political lightning rod, fueling protests and vandalism at Tesla showrooms in the United States and Europe.
The GKA statement referred to a hand gesture by the billionaire during Trump's inauguration celebrations that drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute as an example of his harmful behaviour. Musk dismissed the criticism of the gesture as a "tired" attack.
Musk said on Wednesday he regretted some of the remarks he made on social media platform X, which he owns, during an acrimonious and very public falling out with Trump last week.
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Western Telegraph
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US strikes three Iranian nuclear sites
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He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them'. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region'. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. 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The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defences, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for US bunker-busting bomb, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. 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NBC News
42 minutes ago
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Trump calls strikes on Iran a 'complete and total success'
Moderator of "Meet the Press" Kristen Welker shares details of her phone conversation with President Trump after he ordered strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, reportedly calling it a "great success."
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
As Trump strikes Iran, the US - which launched Iran's nuclear programme - now seeks to end it
So the country which launched Iran's nuclear programme is now the country seeking to end it. Seven decades after President Eisenhower and the Shah cooperated on the Atoms for Peace programme, President Trump is at war with Iran, insisting not doing so risks global security. Unfortunately, for the region and the world, by doing so he risks exactly the same thing. Trump gave diplomacy a two week deadline, that deadline lasted less than two days. With Trump's demands for an 'unconditional surrender' ignored by the Islamic leadership, it fell to the B2 bombers of the United States Air Force to try and destroy Iran's nuclear assets, taking over where Israel failed. The consequences are likely to stretch far beyond their targets. Iran says any form of US military intervention will be met with 'irreparable harm'. 'This nation will never surrender to imposition from anyone,' the Ayatollah has already warned. American bases in the region are likely to be the first to be targeted. The assets in Iraq are likely to be particularly hard hit by in country Shia militia loyal to Iran. It is likely Iran's other proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen may also enter the fray. Though significantly weakened by a structural decapitation by Israel over the past 18 months, Hezbollah do still have the weapons to strike Israel. The Houthis have the power to strike Israel and ships in the Red Sea. They have form for both and could step up their actions. A easy target would be the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane between Iran and Oman. Around a quarter of global oil supplies and a third of liquified natural gas production moves though that stretch. So too thousands of containers ships. You don't need to be an expert in trade or economics to work out the knock-on effect of Iran effectively closing it. And let's not forget global terrorism would be another weapon in Iran's arsenal. All that is before we even consider the other objective, regime change. The regional destabilisation that would trigger would destroy that 'golden age' vision Trump spoke of on his recent Middle East trade tour. Then he eulogised a region defined by commerce not chaos. His own actions may render his words worthless. Without doubt his allies in the Gulf have sought his ear over these past weeks, desperate to avoid such a scenario. It seems even their bank balances have not been enough to reign in their erstwhile ally or weaken the seemingly unbreakable alliance with Israel. Iran in its current form may not be the neighbour the Gulf states would chose but it is better than a chaos of a power vacuum. By taking action President Trump may hope he can bring this conflict to a speedier end. He may yet discover, like so many before, the dreadful dangers of a Middle Eastern war. They take political lives as well as civilian ones.
