ROME, April 23 (Reuters) - A Tesla TSLA.O senior executive has cancelled her attendance at a conference in Rome over fears of protests surrounding the carmaker in response to CEO Elon Musk's right-wing activism.

Tesla cars, infrastructure and offices have recently become targets of vandalism in several countries, including Italy. The group's sales have nosedived along with its share price, which has lost more than 30% this year.

Samantha Harris, Tesla's Global Sustainability Lead, had been due to speak at Regenerative Futures, a conference planned in Rome for May 16-17 by the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability (EIIS).

"Given the recent protests and violence against Tesla, and now in Rome, I've been asked to hold my external presence and travel ... I won't be able to attend," she said in an email to the EIIS seen by Reuters.

A fire at a Tesla dealership in Rome last month destroyed 17 cars in what tech-billionaire Musk described as an act of "terrorism."

Drone images of the fire showed the burnt-out remains of cars lined up in a parking lot, with two rows of vehicles back-to-back and a third row some distance away.

Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has been working to eliminate wasteful U.S. public spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

However, he said on Tuesday he would cut back the time he devotes to DOGE in order to spend more time running his many companies.

(Reporting By Gavin Jones; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

((gavin.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +39 06 8522 4232;))