Long Island man, 83, arrested for damaging Teslas in parking lot

Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News on Apr 23, 2025

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NEW YORK — An elderly Long Island man was arrested and accused of vandalizing five Teslas in a mall parking lot in Nassau County, police said Wednesday.

Victor Divergilio, 83, took a sharp object and made deep scratches on the five vehicles Sunday at Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, Nassau County police said in an alert.

The damage was estimated at $23,000, and Divergilio was charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a felony. His arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday.

Several car dealerships store vehicles at Roosevelt Field because of its large parking areas, according to Newsday. The damaged Teslas belonged to a dealership in Waterbury, Conn.

Cops did not publicly speculate on a motive for Divergilio’s actions, but dozens of Teslas have been targeted in similar actions throughout North America after Elon Musk took a prominent role in President Donald Trump’s administration and began wantonly firing government workers.

In March in Manhattan, a red swastika was spray-painted on a Tesla Cybertruck, a possible reference to Musk’s “Roman salute” at an event celebrating Trump’s inauguration.

Later the same month in Brooklyn, vandals scratched “Nazis” and a swastika into the side of one Tesla vehicle, then slapped a “Musk” bumper sticker with a swastika on another vehicle.

But the vandalism has hardly been limited to the tri-state area. At a dealership in Ontario, Canada, dozens of Tesla vehicles were vandalized at a dealership. A similar incident occurred in San Diego County, Calif.