Anti-Musk protesters aiming to ‘take down Tesla’ gather outside dealerships
Protesters are demonstrating over billionaire Elon Musk’s role in the US Department of of Government Efficiency.
Crowds protesting against billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the US government under President Donald Trump began amassing outside Tesla dealerships throughout the US and in some cities in Europe on Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.
The protesters are trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Mr Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency (Doge) where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending.
The biggest portion of Mr Musk’s estimated 340 billion US dollar fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Mr Trump.
After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the carmaker’s showrooms and service centres in the US in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.
By early afternoon, crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the carmaker’s home state of Texas.
Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as “Honk if you hate Elon” and “Fight the billionaire broligarchy.”
As the day progressed, the protests cascaded around the country outside Tesla locations in major cities such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller groups of counter protesters also showed up at some sites.
At a protest in Berkely, California, Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from Oakland, said: “We’re living in a fascist state and we need to stop this or we’ll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.”
The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe were not as large, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.
A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Mr Musk took over Doge have been looking to sell or trade them in, while others have slapped on bumper stickers seeking to distance themselves from him.
But Mr Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.”
He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently.
