South Florida man drives SUV into crowd of Elon Musk protesters at Tesla store: deputies

Michael Butler and Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald on Mar 24, 2025

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A South Florida man took dangerous, criminal action to express distaste for protesters opposing Elon Musk by aiming his SUV and speeding into a crowd standing in front of a Tesla dealership over the weekend, law enforcement officials said.

Around 2 p.m., Palm Beach resident Andrew Dutil, 45, drove his black Nissan SUV on the curb of a sidewalk and into a group of protesters outside the dealership, 5544 Okeechobee Blvd, the sheriff’s office said. Protesters quickly moved out of the way to avoid being hit.

According to an arrest report, protester Karen Holland said that a man in a black Nissan SUV drove by the dealership earlier in the day and yelled at her and the other protesters.

Later, she was among the protesters when the car drove directly at them. She told deputies if she hadn’t moved, she would have been hit.

Another dissenter, Allison Beaumont, shared a similar story that if she had not run out of the way of the SUV, it would have struck her.

Deputies spoke to a dealership employee who said Dutil walked inside hours before the incident to offer his support for Tesla.

Duvil was arrested and taken to the Palm Beach County Jail, the sheriff’s office said. He is facing one charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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