‘Tesla Takedown’ protesters gather outside showrooms to rally against Elon Musk’s role with DOGE
CNN
Protesters gathered at more than 50 Tesla showrooms Saturday morning in protest of Elon Musk’s controversial role in slashing government.
Demonstrators gathered at more than 50 Tesla showrooms across the United States on Saturday in protest of CEO Elon Musk’s role in slashing government agencies as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump. The protests are part of “Tesla Takedown,” which, according to its website, hopes to encourage stakeholders to “sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines.” “Creating a vote of no confidence in him from the shareholders, that would be the ultimate goal,” Alex Winter, a Los Angeles-based actor and filmmaker who is one of the main organizers, told CNN. The first Tesla Takedown protest was on February 15 after Winter spoke with Joan Donovan, a sociologist and professor at Boston University, who suggested a Tesla protest on Bluesky, an alternative to Musk’s X. Musk, the world’s richest person, began leading DOGE on January 20. Musk’s role has received criticism from the start, due in part to buyout offers to federal employees alongside mass layoffs; dismantling the US Agency for International Development; and seeking access to sensitive payment systems. The Tesla Takedown movement is also gaining traction internationally. There was a protest Friday in Barcelona, and three protests are set for this weekend in London; Lisbon, Portugal; and Reykjavik, Iceland, according to Winter.
