A New York City Cybertruck owner was left stunned as he watched a man deface his vehicle with a swastika in protest of Elon Musk – only to realize that both he and the vandal are Jewish.
Avi Ben Hamo told the New York Post he was just across the street when Michael Lewis, 42, double-parked his Subaru on a busy Brooklyn street, jumped out and appeared to scrawl something on the side of his $80,000 electric truck.
Photos and video from the scene show he had written ‘Elon’ and drew a swastika on the drivers’ side door.
After making the hate symbol, Lewis ran back into his car – which had two car seats in the back – and tried to speed of, but Ben Hamo, 45, jumped in front of the Subaru to block his getaway.
‘Where are you going?’ he asked Lewis as he dialed 911, according to video taken at the scene.
At that point, Lewis decided to ditch his vehicle in the bike lane and ran away.
When he returned about an hour-and-a-half later to retrieve his car, Lewis was confronted by four police officers who handcuffed and arrested him – charging him with aggravated harassment.
But Lewis’ lawyer now says the Brooklyn father regrets his actions that day.
Avi Ben Hamo, who is Jewish, was left stunned as he watched a man deface his vehicle with a swastika in protest of Department of Government Efficiency Chief Elon Musk
New York City police arrested Michael Lewis, 42, and charged him with aggravated harassment, but the Brooklyn District Attorney released him without pursuing criminal charges
‘Our client, who is also Jewish, deeply regrets touching the other man’s car and using a hate symbol in the message,’ Mark Luccarelli told Fox News.
‘He was dealing with a host of personal issues at the time and the action was out of character,’ the lawyer claimed.
He also noted that the Brooklyn District Attorney released Lewis without pursuing criminal charges in the case ‘because no damage was done to the vehicle and no crime was committed.’
Still, Ben Hamo was left outraged by the situation.
‘I feel myself burning inside,’ he told the Post.
‘People hating Elon Musk is one thing, but to do something like this is next level.
‘I don’t understand how someone thinks because I bought a car, it gives them the authorization to do this.’
Tesla founder Elon Musk even commented on the situation, suggesting that Lewis is ‘crazy.’
‘Naturally, he drives a Subaru,’ Musk wrote.
The incident comes amid mass protests of Elon Musk for his efforts to slash government spending. He is pictured with his son on Friday
Speaking about the incident, Musk suggested in a post on X that the vandal must be ‘crazy’
The incident comes amid fiery mass protests at Tesla showrooms across the country as leftists hit out at Musk for his efforts to slash government spending
Last weekend, roughly 250 activists gathered outside a showroom in New York City, holding anti-Musk placards that read ‘Block Facism Now and ‘Musk Must Go’ as they shouted ‘Elon Musk is not elected! Democracy must be protected!’
Five protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct at the Manhattan demonstration and one was taken into custody for resisting arrest, obstruction and violation of local law, The New York Daily News reported.
Swastikas and other Nazi imagery have become common place at these protests.
There have also been more than a dozen acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations since Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to police and local reports.
In Oregon, a showroom was even shot up with an AR-15 style-rifle in February. Suspected vandal Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, is also accused of causing major damage at the same store with Molotov cocktails in January.
Protests against Elon Musk popped up at Tesla showrooms across the country this month
Protesters carrying signs and chant slogans protesting Elon Musk and President Donald Trump outside a Tesla showroom and service center in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles
The protests against Musk and Tesla have ramped up since the billionaire and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began firing thousands of federal workers, including veterans, as it pushes to downsize the government.
Those who have been affected by the cuts have said they can no longer afford necessities, travel and health care. Many also said they are no longer pumping into local economies by going out to dinner.
Musk’s embattled agency is even facing scrutiny from federal judges – one of whom required that the Trump administration rehire thousands of fired ‘probationary’ employees.
US District Judge William Alsup, a Bill Clinton nominee, called the large scale firings across government a ‘sham’ in a fiery decision, days after ruling that a government directive for the firings was ‘unlawful.’
‘It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,’ he said.
‘It was a sham in order to try to avoid statutory requirements,’ he added from the bench.
Musk’s political postures appear to be coming at a price for Tesla, forcing Trump to showcase the vehicles from the White House last week
Musk’s political postures also appear to be coming at a price for Tesla, whose sales in Europe tumbled 45 percent in January from a year earlier – while its rivals’ sales rose by over 37 percent.
Tesla’s market capitalization has dropped 45 percent since hitting an all-time high of $1.5trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after Musk helped finance Trump’s election victory.
In an effort to turn that around, Trump showcased the electric vehicles from the White House last week – and even purchased one of his own.
Meanwhile, Musk is continuing his efforts to slash the federal budget – teaming up with the US Postal Service to cut 10,000 staff members.
He has insisted that America is not a true democracy if judges who attempt to block Trump’s cost-cutting agenda are permitted to keep their spot on the bench.
