[The California Department of Motor Vehicles has apologized for a personalized truck license plate that displays what they deemed to be hate speech related to an October 7 attack on Israel. A photo taken by a watchdog group StopAntisemitism shows the license plate on a Tesla Cybertruck near Los Angeles, which reads “LOLOCT7”.
StopAntisemitism interpreted the plate as a reference to the October 7, 2023 attack, which was carried out by Hamas militants and killed hundreds of people. The group stated that the attack prompted an Israeli retaliation against Palestinians in Gaza.
However, the son of the truck’s owner told ABC 7 that the license plate is actually a family tribute to his grandfather, who is of Filipino descent. According to the news station, “LOLO” means grandfather in Tagalog, “CT” refers to the Cybertruck, and 7 represents the owner’s seven children.
The DMV released a statement expressing their intention to recall the license plate, citing it as an “unacceptable and disturbing” violation of their policies. A spokesperson for the department told the Los Angeles Times that the plate should not have passed the review process, and many individuals who flagged the plate found it offensive.
The DMV’s statement emphasized the importance of creating safe and welcoming roadways, adding that the use of hate language is a clear violation of their core values and policies. The license plate owner will be notified about the recall and has the right to appeal the department’s decision.
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