Today marked a second weekend of scattered protests at Tesla showrooms, following a “TeslaTakeover” hashtag that has been trending on Twitter different Bluesky this week. Protestors’ messages largely centered on the divisive efforts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the pinnacle of the Department of Government Efficiency because the begin of Donald Trump’s Presidency.
The protests don’t look like particularly giant, however they’re quite a few, starting from locations like New York to lesser-known locales like Minneapolis, Minnesota suburb Golden Valley. A bit of Action Network’s web site for organizing protests exhibits rallies deliberate for cities in Ohio, Florida, Washington, New Mexico, and Alberta, Canada.
Tesla buyers have expressed concern that Musk’s actions are negatively impacting the corporate, which noticed its inventory worth plummet by 21 p.c since Trump’s inauguration in accordance with an ABC story this week. Inside the corporate, staff and senior workers mentioned in a current assembly that “the corporate could be higher off if Musk resigned,” The Washington Post reported.
One of the bigger rallies immediately was outdoors of Tesla’s Manhattan showroom, the place a earlier protest occurred on February ninth. In the movies under, folks could be heard chanting, “Don’t purchase swasticars” and “Elon Musk can go to Mars; we don’t want your Nazi vehicles,” maybe referencing Musk’s help for far-right teams like Germany’s AfD occasion or his suspicious salute on Inauguration Day.
Other posts confirmed what protests seemed like immediately in Berkeley, California:
San Francisco, California:
And Kansas City, Missouri:
Similar gatherings occurred in Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Boston, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, few seem to have proven up immediately in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Or Baltimore, Maryland, the place a single particular person held an indication outdoors a Tesla showroom:
Actor, director, and progressive activist Alex Winter, who closely promoted this weekend’s protests over the previous couple of days, posted a picture of himself holding an indication urging folks to promote their Teslas at a protest in Pasadena, California:
Winter re-shared posts from protests at Tesla showrooms within the California cities Corte Madera, San Jose, and Los Angeles, together with others from individuals who’d posted about rallies in Rockville, Maryland; Tucscon, Arizona; and Golden Valley, Minnesota.
There are many posts on Bluesky with the #TeslaTakeover hashtag, however far fewer present up when looking out X, Instagram, or Threads. Outside of picketing, others protested Musk in several methods. Musician Sheryl Crow posted a video of a Tesla being pushed away on a flatbed truck, together with a message saying “There comes a time when it’s important to resolve who you might be keen to align with. So lengthy Tesla,” and noting that she had donated the cash to NPR, which is at the moment threatened by an FCC investigation into public media.
More protests are anticipated, together with throughout the President’s Day vacation on Monday, with one set for Lowell, Maine and no less than one different in Richmond, Virginia. Those are along with quite a few demonstrations deliberate this weekend that don’t goal Tesla showrooms however nonetheless relate to the actions of Musk, DOGE, and President Trump extra broadly.
