Anti-Musk Protests Spread as Critics Target Tesla Showrooms
Reuters: Demonstrators hold signs during a protest at electric carmaker Tesla’s showroom in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 15, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder
Linda Koistinen and her husband Dale stood outside a Tesla dealership in Berkeley, California, on Saturday, protesting. They were not there to take aim at the company’s electric vehicles but rather aimed their discontent at Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla who is seen as disruptor of large portions of US government.
“It’s a place where we can make a visible stand against him personally,” Ms Koistinen told the BBC. “He should not be deciding the fate of our democracy by disassembling our government piece by piece. It’s not right.”
As part of an effort called #TeslaTakeover, protests were organized across the country outside Tesla showrooms on Saturday. These gatherings had largely been planned using Bluesky, a social media platform that is in competition with Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter). Some locations saw small groups protestingless than a dozen peoplein Washington DC, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Lyndhurst, Ohio. In Berkeleythe top California city for electric car ownershipa protest drew 200 attendees.
Musks White House-backed effort called Doge, short for Department of Government Efficiency involves sending teams into government agencies to comb through data and push for massive spending cuts as well as “clawbacks” of money already spent. In response, President Donald Trump has been freezing hiring at federal agencies while laying off thousands of employees.
Musk argues that his work in Doge aims to make the government operate more efficiently by uncovering wasteful spending. However, many view these actions as disruptive and a take-over of their democracy rather than an effort towards efficient governance. “It’s just really grinding on the mind,” Dale Koistinen said. “I’m 84 years old. This is unbelievable. This is a takeover of our government.”
Musk also holds stakes in SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company besides Tesla, but it is his work with Tesla that has drawn ire from those unhappy about the Doge project.
In recent days, concerned Americans have been encouraged to dump their Tesla stock and sell their cars. Singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow posted a video on Instagram showing her car being towed away. “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with,” she wrote in the caption of her post titled “So long Tesla.” She donated proceeds from selling her car to National Public Radio, an organization that has been targeted by Musk’s criticism.
Tesla shares had seen significant growth after Donald Trumps election and topped $1,000. However, following his inauguration last month, the company’s stock value dropped 30% since its peak in December.
The protests were promoted by disinformation researcher Joan Donovan and actor Alex Winter (known for playing Bill in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”). A protester named Teah Jackson noticed the Berkeley protest during an outing with her girlfriend and decided to support it. She expressed hope that such actions would lead others to continue fighting for their beliefs.
