Tesla’s temporary charging station in Vansbro was knocked out during the night to Thursday when someone poured water into all the charging handles, causing them to freeze solid. At the site, a banner was also left with an explicit political hate message against Tesla and the company’s owner, Elon Musk.

During the winter break period, charging opportunities in Dalarna are especially important for mountain traffic. In Vansbro, Tesla had opened eight charging points next to a grocery store, using a provisional solution since the station is not connected to the power grid.

But on Thursday night, the chargers were rendered unusable when water was poured into the handles and froze. As a result, travelers—including those driving car brands other than Tesla—were met with a station they couldn’t use, right in the middle of one of the year’s busiest travel weeks. This was reported by, among others, Siljan News.

Hateful Banner Revealed the Motive

The sabotage was accompanied by a hostile message linking the incident to the ongoing political and union conflict surrounding Tesla in Sweden. The banner read: “No to unions? No to fascism and strikebreaking. Go home Elon.”

The political hate message is aimed at the company and its owner, but it is third parties—drivers and local businesses—who have suffered the consequences.

The police stated that Tesla had not reported the attack when SVT brought it to their attention on Friday morning. Charges that usually apply to this type of action are vandalism, sabotage, or creating a public danger, depending on the circumstances.

Conflict with Weak Union Support

The political message at the scene is linked to the protracted Swedish Tesla conflict, where industrial actions and blockades have been carried out by the LO-affiliated union IF Metall. At the same time, there are signs that the conflict is not straightforward, even within the union ranks.

SEE ALSO: Tesla strike: Members are leaving the IF Metall union

IF Metall has lost members, and part of the discontent is said to be linked to members not sympathizing with the industrial actions against Tesla. Relatively few employees have wished to participate in the strike—those referred to as strikebreakers on the aforementioned banner.

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