LOS ANGELES – The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) apologized Thursday for issuing a personalized license plate that seemed to reference the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. However, the car owner’s family has denied that interpretation.
A photo of the license plate reading “LOLOCT7” was shared by the X account StopAntisemitism, which claimed the plate, on a Tesla Cybertruck, was seen at a major intersection in Culver City, near Los Angeles.
The account urged the DMV to recall the plate, stating it “celebrates the October 7th terrorist attack” and calling it a “vile mockery.”
The owner’s son told ABC affiliate KABC on Friday that the account had misunderstood the meaning of the Tagalog word on the plate.
The son, whose identity was not disclosed by the station, explained that the license plate should be read as “LOLO-CT-7,” with “LOLO” referring to the Tagalog word for grandfather, “CT” representing the model of the car, and “7” indicating the number of grandchildren the owner has. He added that this explanation was provided to the DMV when the license plate application was submitted.
California DMV issues apology over license plate
The California DMV issued a statement on X, announcing that it is recalling the license plates and will review its process for approving personalized plates.
The latest tips & news straight to your inbox
Join 50,000+ subscribers for exclusive access to our monthly newsletter with Sports, Tech, Jobs, Entertainmentand tips!
“We sincerely apologize that these personalized plates were not properly rejected during our review process,” the statement said. The car owner’s son told KABC that the situation was a “complete misunderstanding.”
“We have great empathy for anyone who has experienced hatred,” the son stated. “We would truly appreciate it if those seeing or hearing about this could extend empathy to our family, as we had no ill intent whatsoever.”
