- A website exposed personal information of Tesla owners and DOGE employees.
- Several of the owners on the site sold their Teslas, and some also said the information was inaccurate.
- The site aimed to protest against Elon Musk and the White House DOGE office.
Michael Bryant got a weird text from an unknown number on Tuesday afternoon, naming the street where he lived and ending with, “This is exactly why you should’ve never gotten a Tesla bro.” But Bryant sold his Tesla years ago.
Like many other current or former Tesla owners across the country, Bryant’s information — name, address, email, phone number, social media account — was listed on a website “doxxing,” or publicly exposing the private information of, Tesla owners and DOGE employees.
The site displayed a digital map with a Molotov cocktail cursor, revealing the locations of Tesla charging stations and dealerships when users hovered over icons. 404 Media first reported its existence.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the website showed an error and was fully inaccessible as of Wednesday morning. It wasn’t immediately clear who created the website or if that person took it down.
Business Insider spoke to eight individuals whose information was listed on the site. BI verified both their car ownership and sale, when applicable. Several sources requested anonymity to prevent further harassment. Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
Three of the people BI spoke with had already sold their cars. (The doxxing site said that those who wanted their information removed needed to email “proof” that they’d sold their vehicle.)
Some of the personal information on the site, like addresses and phone numbers, was outdated, too. One Tesla owner told BI that he hadn’t lived at the address listed for more than 20 years; another said he hadn’t used the posted phone number since before he bought his car. The source of the data isn’t clear.
The website is the latest in a series of protests against Tesla and its billionaire CEO, some of which have led to vandalized dealerships and destructed vehicles. Tesla owners have been a key target amid a growing movement against Musk, with some reporting harassment, road rage, and crude drawings on their vehicles. On Tuesday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the attacks at dealerships as “domestic terrorism” and said the Justice Department had charged multiple suspects.
Regardless of their politics, the people BI spoke with didn’t see that online doxxing as an effective form of protest against Elon Musk and the White House DOGE office. Bryant said in an email that he was “livid” about the text he received, which BI has seen screenshots of, and is “not going to be intimidated by this mob!”
“I think it’s irresponsible and extra-judicial punishment for people that have nothing to do with what is going on in Washington,” Victor Vescovo, who has owned a Tesla since 2016 and supports DOGE’s mission, told BI on the phone.
Another, who said he’s trying to sell his vehicle, said in a message that he supports “whatever civil disobedience people take out on Tesla, the company, but it’s upsetting to see people glorifying violence against owners.” He said he used to be proud of his car, but now doesn’t want to be associated with the brand.
“I think it’s an example of the crazy times we live in,” a person who bought their car in 2021 said about the site. “The fact that somebody thought that this is a good idea, that it may move the needle in some sort of positive way, is concerning to me.”
One owner who sold their Tesla after the election said they agree with the website’s sentiment, “but not the methods.” The owner said while they are in a financial position to sell their vehicle, they have sympathy for others who cannot afford to do the same.
Musk has spoken out about the recent vandalism in posts on X and addressed it in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“I always thought that the left, you know, Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they’re burning down cars, they’re firebombing dealerships, they’re firing bullets into dealerships, they’re smashing up Teslas,” he said.
Most of the people BI spoke to were spooked by the site and had questions about where the data came from and who accessed it, but were not fearful for their safety. Vescovo was blunter; he said he might contact lawyers but isn’t too worried about his vehicle being targeted.
“Not in Texas,” he said. “It’s a pretty heavily armed state, and people are a little bit more careful about what they do here.”
Have a tip? Contact these reporters via email at atecotzky@insider.com or aaltchek@businessinsider.com, or on Signal at alicetecotzky.05 or aalt.19. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
