17 car destroyed in dawn blaze at Tesla dealership.

Police in Italy are investigating a major fire that engulfed a Tesla dealership and completely destroyed 17 cars in the eastern outskirts of Rome in the early hours of Monday 31 March.

Firefighters battled for hours to control the blaze which broke out at the dealership on Via Serracapriola in the Terrenova area at around 04.30.

Police are now seeking to determine whether the cause of the fire was accidental or whether it was arson.

There were no reports of anyone injured in the blaze which took place following a day of 'Tesla Takedown' protests around the world on Saturday, in which protesters urged people to boycott the electric car company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

Last month a group of activists protested at a Tesla showroom in Milan to denounce Musk's alleged role "in financing far-right movements globally", unfurling a banner that read: "Musk thrives, democracy dies".