- A Cybertruck owner performed Nazi salutes and allegedly hurled slurs in public.
- The Tesla owner’s business was quickly bombarded with negative Yelp reviews.
- The owner apologized and promised to support anti-hate groups going forward.
These days, just about everyone walking around has a recording device sitting in their pocket. That means just about anything we do in public has the potential to be filmed and posted online for the world to see. One business owner just found that out the hard way. After performing a couple of Nazi salutes out the window of his Tesla Cybertruck, a video of the incident surfaced online. Unsurprisingly, his company’s Yelp reviews took a nosedive in the aftermath.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f”);
}
});
According to the post on Reddit, this happened in Mission Bay, San Francisco. “While I was walking home… the owner of Cyber Electric LLC, repeatedly performed the Nazi salute after yelling homophobic slurs at my friends and me. This is deeply abhorrent behavior and a reflection of the company’s values and beliefs. I feel badly for anyone this woefully ignorant and hateful,” the poster said.
Read: Man Who Vandalized Six Teslas Avoids Jail Time And Still Keeps His State Job
Sure enough, that appears to be what we see in the video embedded below. While some elements of that description are hard to confirm, it’s clear that someone is making the gesture and that the company graphic is on the side of the electric truck. It’s worth noting that we have no idea what led up to this interaction. While nothing warrants the reaction, it’s tough to believe that we’re missing some context here.
Video Reddit
That said, those who saw the video online went to Yelp to express their displeasure with reviews of Cyber Electric. “There is no room in Modesto for Nazi businesses. Don’t support fascism or homophobics,” one reviewer said. “Is this who you want in your home, around your family performing repairs?” another from the Bay Area wrote according to SF Gate. “Disgusting.” Interestingly, Yelp has since scrubbed the page of the negative reviews with the following explanation.
Yelp’s Response
“This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news rather than actual consumer experiences with the business,” said the company. “We’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events (even if that means disabling the ability for users to express points of view we might agree with).”
To his credit, Cyber Electric owner Marco Diaz has already issued a response. He posted a video on his YouTube account admitting that he used the Nazi salute. While he denied using homophobic slurs, he did acknowledge that he hurt others with his actions. “To make this right, I am educating myself, supporting anti-hate groups, and ensuring my company promotes inclusion. I’m committed to learning and rebuilding trust. I welcome your feedback and hope my actions show my sincerity,” he said.
This looks like a case of trying to be provocative and crossing a line that was not remotely worth testing. It is another reminder that in today’s world, almost everything ends up on video, and once a reputation takes a hit like this, there is no easy way to walk it back.
var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:[]};
adpushup.que.push(function() {
if (adpushup.config.platform !== “DESKTOP”){
adpushup.triggerAd(“bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c”);
} else {
adpushup.triggerAd(“9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751”);
}
});