There is a very large number of people who have no idea what different cars look like. The logo is the only clue for them.
My BiL has a Tesla and I feel for him with all this happening.
He bought it years ago, well before all this current mess. They were very popular cars. No one was setting them on fire. No one cared.
But now he has a fairly expensive car someone might vandalize through no fault of his own.
He’s very liberal and not happy with Musk but no one will wonder about that when they bash his car.
He might sell it but re-sale value has also plummeted.
People were removing the Tesla branding years ago because they think it looks cooler having nothing to do with the current situation. Obviously it’s more common now because of the current situation.
I am terrible at recognizing cars. The logo helps me a lot.
I agree completely that in general there are a lot of those people. But …
I think the overlap between “People who can’t recognize a parked Tesla without the logo” and “People who intend to vandalize parked Teslas” is a very small set. Pulling the logo off your Tesla may be a good way to virtue-signal that you’re anti-musk, but it’s IMO not a good way to camouflage against vandals.
Many many cars of many many brands have the make and model trim removed. Even cachet brands like BMW or Mercedes. The “stealthy look” is all the rage in certain circles.
On the subject of many people not reliably recognizing car models without the manufacturer’s logo, it can help even more If the badge of some other model is substituted and the job is done competently. The white Tesla pictured in post 155 which was rebranded as an Audi was really well done. It has the Audi logo plus also the Audi model number badge on the lower left.
It helps of course that the Model 3 & S both reasonably resemble ordinary sedans. The Model Y is real funky looking from astern once you notice its big bustle-like rump. And of course the CT stands alone in being … uniquely recognizable … among current vehicles on the road.
Maybe someone will try sticking a Hummer logo on one.
ETA: Or DeLorean.
Were it not for the fact that the CT is now so recognizable, a big sticker that said “I built this myself in my garage using only a hammer and chisel and a bunch of Gorilla Glue” could have been convincing!
Now that we’re in the age of 3D printing, I’ve given a bit of thought to the idea that my next car, no matter what brand it is, I want to make a custom manufacturer’s logo and model name/number for it, replacing all the original badges. Probably some brand that exists only in some sci-fi franchise that only fellow nerds might recognize without googling. It’ll be significantly cheaper than a vanity license plate, and more classy than a bumper sticker/magnet.
Heh, if you made a faux Deplorean, you could go with Glint of Cold Steel 
from an obscure TT-RPG “Underground”.
( above stylized chrome G C S is the in-game logo, from a quick photo from my rulebook )
So obscure, scifi/superhero/dystopian TTRPG, with just the sort of tongue in cheek slapback at the “bulletproof” cool of Tesla’s claims.
It’s just “a little bit of stormy weather”, says Elon.
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/tesla-stock-selling-musk-politics-f144dbe5?mod=hp_lead_pos2
March 17 Two Tesla Cybertrucks caught fire at a Kansas City dealership in an incident police suspect may be arson, the Kansas City Star reported.
Those eyesores do tend to catch fire all on their own. This pair appears to have been shot at, though.
March 12 Protesters from Just Stop Oil, a British environmentalist group, poured orange liquid latex over a Tesla Optimus robot at a company store in London as a form of protest against Musk..
Watching the TV footage of those who entered the
CapitolTesla dealership and walked throughStatuary Hallthe showroom and parking lot showed people in an orderly fashion staying between thestanchionsparked cars andropespainted parking lines, taking videos and pictures,” Clyde said. “You know, if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video fromJanuary the 6tha Tesla dealership, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.
–Andrew Clyde (R-GA)
[With slight modifications for effect]
The Vancouver International Auto Show has removed Tesla as an exhibitor, citing safety concerns.
And an interesting story from Saskatoon, where a cybertruck was badly scratched by a guy with a knife. He was caught on camera, and when his identity came to light, he called the owner to apologise and said he would cooperate with the police.
“He said he feels really bad about it, and it was eating him up,” MacGowan said of the strangely pleasant conversation.
One arrest in Vancouver for spray-painting a Tesla dealership; other cases under investigation. Approximately 80 Teslas damaged on a Tesla lot in Hamilton Ontario; scratches and tire-slashes, no fire. Under investigation by the police.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tesla-vancouver-vandalism-1.7490652
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/tesla-dealership-vehicles-damaged-1.7488806
Report that Tesla trade-ins are increasing:
That is the most Canadian thing ever
Can we assume he’d been drinking? That seems part and parcel of all Canadian mischief.
Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear has weighed in.
By way of background, Clarkson gave a mostly bad review of the Tesla Roadster 17 years ago (although he was impressed by its acceleration).
So Musk sued him for libel. And lost. And appealed. And lost.
Quoth Clarkson:
In his Times article, Clarkson wrote: “He lost the case, and the appeal, and he’s never really got over it. He still claims I was biased and that we pretended his car had broken down when it hadn’t. Even though it had. I should really have sued him back, but I feared he’d call me a paedo, so instead I just waited on the river bank for his body to float past. And now it has.”