An electrician has apologized after a video caught him throwing Nazi salutes from his company’s branded Tesla Cybertruck.
Marco Diaz of Modesto can be seen making the fascist gesture through the passenger-side window in a video that went viral.
The video, shot by a pedestrian who has not responded to requests for comment, was filmed at Third Street south of Mission Creek. The footage was posted to Reddit on Wednesday, but it’s unclear when it was recorded.
“I deeply regret my actions in the video,” Diaz told The Standard in a text message Thursday. “I was intoxicated and reacted foolishly to provocation, but I take full responsibility. The gesture does not reflect my beliefs, and I’m sorry for the hurt it caused.”
Diaz said someone, possibly the person who recorded the interaction, had hurled comments his way.
“The guys recording were provoking us simply because we were driving a Cybertruck,” Diaz wrote. “I don’t recall the exact words because I was intoxicated, but I heard yelling directed at us, which prompted me to roll down the window. I’ve experienced hostility regularly while driving my Cybertruck, often getting flipped off or thumbs down, so I assumed it was more of the same.”
Tesla owners have faced backlash since CEO Elon Musk took on a prominent role in the Trump administration, reporting people scratching their parked cars. There have also been regular protests at Tesla showrooms.
As the short video begins, a homophobic slur can be heard off-camera. Diaz denied that anyone riding in his truck said it.
“If you watch the video carefully, you can see that the slur was not from our end,” he wrote. The Standard has been unable to verify who said the slur.
The video clearly shows his company branding, Cyber Electric LLC, on the truck. The company’s website was briefly taken down Wednesday, but archived pages said Diaz and a team handle electrical projects. Records from the California secretary of state list Diaz as the company’s manager; public records also say he is the owner.
“Why are you recording, bro? … Yes, dude, why the hell are we so mean to each other right now?” a man in the back seat of the truck can be heard saying to the person filming the video.
Diaz then says, “I work for the government,” before the truck pulls away.
Cyber Electric, which describes itself on Yelp as “Honest electricians that provide clean work in the most time efficient way,” has been bombarded by negative reviews. Yelp said its support team is monitoring responses to “content related to media reports.”
As the video ends, the person recording shouts, “Bye, girl!”