Four Tesla cars have been set on fire in Germany and police have said a “political motive” cannot be ruled out. 

A member of the public reported the first burning vehicle in an eastern district in Berlin in the early hours of Friday morning.

Around half an hour later a passer-by saw another Tesla in flames in the western district of Steglitz.

That was quickly followed by two more vehicles being spotted on fire in a street only a few minutes’ walk away.

Several other cars next to the Teslas were also damaged.

The police said a “political motive cannot be excluded” for the fires.

Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, has faced a backlash in Germany vocally supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany in the recent general election.

The senior advisor to US President Donald Trump hosted AfD leader Alice Weidel on a live stream on his X social media platform and also used it to boost the party’s messaging.

Official figures showed that German sales of the brand were down over 76 per cent year-on-year, even as the broader electric vehicle market registered a recovery.

In recent months there have been several other incidents targeting Teslas in Germany.

In early January two of the vehicles were set on fire in Berlin, with two more being set alight in February in Dresden.

Last month police said that they were probing suspected arson at a construction site in Berlin which was reportedly claimed by far-left activists as part of an anti-Tesla protest.

AFP