The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently issued an apology for a personalized truck license plate that was deemed to display hate speech related to the October 7 attack on Israel. The license plate in question, seen on a Tesla Cybertruck near Los Angeles, read 'LOLOCT7,' with 'LOL' commonly known as an abbreviation for 'laugh out loud.'
The watchdog group StopAntisemitism posted a photo of the license plate, suggesting it referenced the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants on Israel. This incident resulted in casualties and led to Israeli retaliation against Palestinians in Gaza.
However, the son of the truck's owner clarified to ABC 7 in Los Angeles that the personalized plate was not related to the October 7 attack. He explained that 'LOLO' stands for grandfather in Tagalog, 'CT' refers to the Cybertruck, and the number 7 symbolizes the owner's seven children.
In response to the controversy, the DMV expressed regret over the situation, calling it 'unacceptable and disturbing.' The department stated that it is taking immediate action to recall the license plates and will enhance its internal review process to prevent such oversights in the future.
A DMV spokesperson highlighted that the license plate should not have passed the initial review process and acknowledged that the use of hateful language goes against the department's policies and values of serving the public and ensuring safe roadways.
The DMV plans to notify the license plate owner about the recall due to the language used. The owner will have the opportunity to appeal the department's decision regarding the license plate.
