Demonstrators plan to gather at more than 200 Tesla locations worldwide on Saturday in what organisers have called “Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action,” escalating a months-long campaign against CEO Elon Musk‘s role in the Trump administration, according to a report from The Guardian.
The coordinated protests, scheduled across nearly 50 California locations and 32 international sites, represent the most significant public mobilisation yet against Musk’s government position heading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), according to organisers.
“Nobody voted for this, and nobody voted for Elon,” said Vickie Mueller Olvera, who has organised Tesla Takedown protests in the San Francisco Bay Area. “He’s an unelected super-billionaire and he’s a thug”.
The grassroots movement describes itself as decentralised, with local organisers planning demonstrations independently rather than coordinating with a central national group. Protesters are specifically targeting Tesla as a pressure point to express opposition to Musk’s government activities.
The protest movement appears to be having measurable economic consequences. Since President Trump’s inauguration, Tesla’s stock has declined more than 35 percent, with sales decreasing significantly and the resale value of used Teslas reportedly reaching historic lows.
Musk’s personal net worth has fallen approximately 25 percent—about $100 billion—during this period, though multiple factors likely contribute to these financial trends.
Jonathan V Last, editor for the Bulwark, a conservative anti-Trump website, has attributed much of Tesla’s decline to the protest movement.
“I would go so far as to say the Tesla takedown protests have been one of the most consequential protest movements in the shortest amount of time ever,” Last said during a recent Bulwark podcast. “They helped to obliterate one-third of Elon Musk’s net worth, in like 100 days”.
The protests began in mid-February with small gatherings outside Tesla showrooms across the United States. Organisers report steady growth in participation, including some Tesla owners joining demonstrations with bumper stickers stating, “I bought this before Elon went crazy”.
“I see Elon Musk as hijacking our government, and he’s just dismantling everything that we hold dear,” Olvera said. “Everything that people have fought long and hard for… it just feels like the rug is getting pulled out from under us”.
The campaign has gained significant traction on social media platforms, with the movement’s Bluesky account reportedly attracting nearly 25,000 followers in recent weeks.
Protest organisers have explicitly distanced themselves from acts of vandalism against Tesla facilities, which have included molotov cocktail attacks, gunshots and graffiti at dozens of locations.
The FBI launched a taskforce on Monday to investigate these incidents, with officials labelling them as “domestic terrorism”.
“We are a non-violent grassroots protest movement,” the Tesla Takedown group states on its organising page. “We oppose violence and destruction of property. Peaceful protest on public property is not domestic terrorism”.
Earlier this week, police arrested a suspect in connection with a high-profile attack against a Tesla showroom in Las Vegas involving molotov cocktails. The suspect faces 15 charges.
President Trump and Musk showcased Tesla vehicles at the White House earlier this month, with Trump expressing interest in purchasing one.
Both condemned the anti-Tesla protests, with Trump indicating he would designate any violence against showrooms as domestic terrorism.
When contacted for comment, Musk did not respond directly. On his social media platform X, he has previously stated that his government work is “literally improving government efficiency, like the name says”.
Saturday’s planned demonstrations will span from Waterville, Maine, to Honolulu, Hawaii, with additional protests scheduled in Australia, Finland, Germany and other countries.
“LFG!” the group posted to Bluesky. “Let’s send these techno-fascists, broligarchs and old fashioned Nazis a message loud and clear”.
(information from The Guardian)
