A self-confessed Elon Musk-hater was filmed issuing a groveling apology after he was tracked down and confronted for allegedly carving a swastika onto a Tesla.
Chadd Ritenbaugh, 55, was slapped with a slew of charges in Pennsylvania after being confronted by the furious Tesla owner over the alleged incident outside a Planet Fitness in Doylestown, cops said.
The vehicle’s camera captured a vandal parking next to the Tesla just before 9.30 a.m. on March 24 before suddenly jumping out, glancing around and then crouching down to mark the car.
The Tesla owner only found out when they got home and found “scratches in the shape of a swastika” on the side of the car, leading him to the footage of the vandal at work, police said.
It showed the suspect going to the gym, and “Planet Fitness staff was able to identify the suspect by his membership” after he scanned in with his card, cops said.
Before Ritenbaugh was arrested, he was filmed being confronted by the Tesla owner who repeatedly asked if he scratched a swastika into the car with a key.
“I’m sorry, I have nothing against your car, and I have nothing against you,” Ritenbaugh could be heard saying meekly.
“Obviously, I have something against Elon Musk,” he said of the Tesla owner.
At one point, Ritenbaugh denied using a key to etch the markings and instead insisted he’d only used a crayon — blaming it on him being “misguided.”
Ritenbaugh was booked on criminal mischief, harassment and disorderly conduct charges.
The shameless ordeal is just the latest in a spate of vandalism attacks targeting Tesla owners and dealerships across the country.
Much of the violence against the electric car company has been fueled by Musk’s new role as President Trump’s main cost-cutter with the Department of Environmental Efficiency (DOGE).
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