A new group of climate change radicals has assembled to commit softcore domestic terrorism, deflating the tires of SUV owners simply because, “We want to make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas.”
The entity in question calls itself the Tyre Extinguishers and claims to be a “leaderless, autonomous movement of groups that act independently.”
Announcing it had completed its “first action in Portugal” on Twitter, it was pleased to report that, “Reports coming in of very angry…who are upset they can’t drive their massive tanks around Lisbon. Oh no! Welcome to the fun, Portugal!” alongside a photograph of a targeted vehicle that has a leaflet left under its windshield wiper.
The English version of the leaflet tells the vandalized target, “It’s not you. It’s your car. We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others.”
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Such consequences, the group describes, center around the often suspect carbon climate change narrative, an assertion that “SUVs are more likely to kill people than normal cars in collisions,” and that “psychological studies show SUV drivers are more likely to take risks on the road.”
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In promoting the alleged success of its Portuguese campaign, the entity states that it has cells in 18 other countries:
- United Kingdom
- USA
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- France
- Spain
- Germany
- Denmark
- Norway
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
- Austria
- New Zealand
- Italy
- Ireland
- Belgium
- Portugal
The group’s website states of its motives, “We’re taking this action because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from these huge vehicles. Everyone hates them, apart from the people who drive them.”
In May 30 reporting by News.com.au, the website spoke with members of the group in an article that opened with, “A radical movement purporting to save the world from climate change has declared war on SUV owners, encouraging the public to actively sabotage cars in the street.”
Vandals told the outlet that there were no “legal issues” and boasted that Australia would be the “next big target.”
“It’s very hard to get caught doing this, unless SUV owners are going to stay up all night, every night defending their vehicle in the off chance we appear,” a spokesperson stated.
They added, “If someone is caught, there’s a debate about whether what we are doing is even illegal. In the UK, police forces are divided about whether it‘s a crime to let the air out of a tyre or not. It may not even meet the threshold for criminal damage.”
The group encourages active participants to clone its website and methodologies, spawning other identities such as The DundeeFlators in Scotland, which The Herald Scotland reported on May 20 had deflated 15 vehicles in Dundee and 90 in London using the same leaflet with the same branding.
9 days prior, The Herald had published an article stating the cell has declared it will deflate the tires of 10,000 SUVs before the end of the year.
The preferred method the vandals use is to unscrew the valve stem cap, place a small bean, lentil, or stone on the needle, and replace the cap, causing a slow deflate, according to their website.
Another sect calls itself the Reifenbande Wien and targeted SUVs in Vienna, Austria according to December of 2022 reporting by local media outlet OE24, which noted that a Mercedes had hit a pedestrian after losing control as a result of insufficient tire pressure.
The French version of the organization, Les Dégonfleurs, hit vehicles in the francophone area of Quebec, Canada, in October of 2022, according to reporting by Le Journal De Quebec, noting that area police told the outlet such acts count as criminal mischief under Quebec law.
In January, SuvVersive, the Italian branch hit vehicles in Milan, Italy-based publication Fleet Magazine reported.
Pinned on the group’s Twitter account is a post from April of 2022 centered on a photograph of an article in the print version of The Guardian that used their vandalism as a lever to discourage potential SUV buyers, telling them to instead buy an “traditional estate car,” such as an Audi A4 sedan.
The group regularly retweets Twitter posts from different locales where victims of their vandalism share photographs of their deflated tires and the group’s leaflet, often mocking the owners in the process.
Another Tweet was a self-posted video from Germany stating, “50 SUVs made safe in Berlin-Pankow last night! Great work team! Keep it up!”
“Listen to that lovely hisssssssssssssss!” they added as a black SUV became immobilized.
When the group hit a wealthy suburb in Boston in April, local media outlet Boston25News interviewed one resident who pointed out that some people in the neighborhood are firefighters and work at the hospital and were unable to attend work because of damage to their vehicles.
Although tire deflation can be solved with roadside assistance—and if the victim is an AAA member the cost is time instead of money—or a portable air compressor, the trend is evolving beyond petty vandalism.
On June 6, BBC reported that vandals in Bristol had spray painted slogans such as “Climate Criminal” and “This Machine Kills Kids” on the hoods and doors of 11 SUVs.
Tyre Extinguishers promoted the story, stating, “Great work in Bristol where SUVs have been branded.”
“It should be shameful to drive a massive climate-killing, child-killing tank in a city. Keep going!” the account’s author added.
Car repair website It Still Runs states that the cost of repainting the door on a vehicle is hefty and often runs over $1,000.
The group publicized that it had received a threat after one person it targeted, which previously had their tires deflated, also had their vehicle spray painted.
The account published the email in full and made sure to unapologetically mock the sender.
