Tainted love

The ethical dilemma troubling the art world now besets the automotive fraternity: does the behaviour of the creator reflect on the worth of the work?

- Jane Clifton

A syndicate of French Tesla owners is suing Tesla because of the activities of the car company's owner, Elon Musk.

It's a strange continuum for the anarchic billionaire to find himself on- the roll call of artists liable for cancellation. There's Caravaggio, Renaissance chiaroscuro genius and murderer; Picasso, whose treatment of women would not likely pass the #MeToo test; Rolf Harris, the family entertainer whose paintings lost their allure after his conviction for sexual assault of teen girls.

Even an untutored beholder would have to concede both that a Caravaggio painting would be just as magnificent if he had been as benign as a spring lamb, and that - notwithstanding arguments about batteries and manufacture - a Tesla car remains innocent of carbon emissions, even if the company owner now seems a bit bored with net zero.

The French suit filed in June demands compensation for his bringing the cars into such disrepute they can no longer be reliably used or enjoyed. Dozens of Teslas have been vandalised by opponents of American President Donald Trump, for whom Musk was a campaigner and adviser.