This weekend, protests escalated astatine Tesla showrooms crossed the nation. Hundreds of group gathered to boycott Elon Musk and his involvement successful the Trump administration arsenic the caput of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is overseeing a massively disruptive effort to occurrence thousands of national workers to slash authorities spending.
Most of these protests are associated pinch the Tesla Takedown movement that first emerged successful February. It encourages supporters to “sell your Teslas, dump your stock, subordinate the picket lines” arsenic portion of efforts to “stop Musk.” But momentum has ramped up importantly successful the past week, starring to bigger turnouts and immoderate arrests.
Though astir of these protests person been peaceful, location person been abstracted reports of vandalism and arson directed astatine Tesla. Last week, Tesla charging stations successful Boston were group ablaze, while dozens of vehicles were torched astatine a dealership successful France. Gunshots shattered windows and damaged cars astatine a Tesla showroom successful Oregon, and a Boston man was arrested for slapping stickers of Musk making a Nazi-like salute connected Tesla vehicles. And Colorado authorities arrested a female accused of tossing Molotov cocktails astatine Tesla cars parked astatine a dealership and allegedly spray-painting an expletive astatine the entrance.
Here’s a rundown of the biggest protests that happened this weekend.
More than 350 protestors showed up extracurricular the Tesla showroom successful Manhattan’s West Village vicinity connected Saturday, chanting things like, “Nobody voted for Elon Musk” and “Oligarchs out, populist in,” according to reports from Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Another protestor held up a motion saying, “Send Musk to Mars Now!!” This protestation coincided pinch the International Women’s Day march, making it moreover bigger.
A dense constabulary beingness was successful the area, arsenic shown successful a TikTok pinch officers surrounding a Tesla Cybertruck parked connected the broadside of the road. Five protestors were arrested for disorderly conduct, while different was apprehended for resisting arrest, obstruction, and usurpation of section law, New York Daily News reports.
This follows the apprehension of 9 group during a Tesla Takedown protest successful Manhattan the erstwhile week.
Around 300 demonstrators rallied extracurricular a Tesla showroom connected Boston’s Boylston Street, arsenic reported by section news position WCVB. The group besides staged a flash mob successful beforehand of the dealership, according to The Boston Globe.
“We are not condoning spot harm for sure, but Elon should support successful mind that if he wants to onslaught the basal rights, the basal well-being of regular people, he shouldn’t beryllium amazed erstwhile immoderate group determine to beryllium much nonstop astir it,” Shua Sanchez, a rally organizer, told WCVB.
No arrests were made during the protest.
Hundreds of protestors stood extracurricular the Streeterville Tesla showroom connected Saturday, which was joined by marchers from the Women’s Day march, Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Tribune report. Protestors held akin signs, for illustration “Launch Musk to Mars” and “Democracy Dies pinch DOGE.”
Meanwhile, protestors astatine the Tesla showroom successful Chicago’s Orland Park fought pinch supporters of the MAGA movement, according to the Chicago Tribune. There were nary reports of arrests astatine either demonstration.
There were besides dozens of Tesla Takedown protestors astatine Musk’s Delray Beach, Florida dealership, pinch demonstrators holding signs for illustration “Fight fascism,” “Democracy is not a business plan,” and “No 1 voted for Elon Musk!!” CBS 12 reports.
“We’re present coming rallying against Elon and what he’s done,” 1 protestor, Jeff Finkelstein, told CBS 12. “Ever since Trump’s been successful it’s been much astir Musk than Trump and we’re conscionable showing our frustration.”
On the West Coast, hundreds of protestors stood successful beforehand of Tesla’s Old Pasadena dealership successful California. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) made an quality during the event, wherever she criticized Musk’s DOGE inaugural and President Donald Trump.
“He [Trump] said that firing American national workers would beryllium making America better,” Chu said, according to Pasadena Now. “No. Instead, he has fired thousands of workers from the National Weather Service, which we trust connected to show america if there’s a vulnerable upwind event.”
This is the second play successful a row that demonstrators gathered extracurricular the Pasadena dealership.
Tesla protests are moreover popping up extracurricular of the US, pinch dozens of group successful Lisbon, Portugal, holding signs that said “Boycott Tesla” extracurricular a Tesla dealership, Reuters reports. This objection occurred connected Sunday, conscionable earlier what could beryllium the country’s 3rd parliamentary election successful 3 years.
As noted by Reuters, the protestors raised concerns astir Musk’s promotion of right-wing authorities successful Europe. One protestor told the outlet that Musk “may not beryllium capable to person capable power successful the adjacent predetermination successful Portugal but pinch the magnitude of money he has, measurement by step, he tin do that.”
How has this affected Tesla?
Even earlier the protests started, Tesla’s income dropped twelvemonth complete twelvemonth for the first time. Some drivers person besides decided to waste and acquisition successful aliases waste their Teslas to debar embarrassment, pinch 1 proprietor telling The New York Times she was called a “Nazi.” Tesla’s banal value has besides plummeted much than 50 percent from its grounds precocious successful December, Forbes reports, while Musk’s nett worthy sunk from $464 cardinal successful December to $330 billion.
In response to the protests, Musk accused billionaires George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and others of backing the protests done the Democratic fundraising level ActBlue. However, as noted by Forbes, ActBlue “does not money groups, but alternatively is simply a level done which donors tin springiness money to campaigns aliases organizations.”
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