SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Protesters oppose billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. government purges U.S. government protesters showcased outside Tesla dealerships in Europe outside certain European cities on Saturday to undermine the wealth of the world’s wealthiest people.
Protesters are trying to escalate the movement against Tesla dealers and vehicles to oppose Musk’s role as head of a newly formed government efficiency department or road department, where he tries to get sensitive data and shut down entire institutions as he cuts government spending. Musk’s biggest part of his estimated $340 billion in wealth is his stock in an electric car company that continues to operate while working with Trump.
Saturday was the first attempt at all 277 U.S. showrooms and service centers in the U.S., after some sporadic demonstrations, in an effort to deepen the company’s recent decline in sales.
By afternoon, crowds ranged from dozens to hundreds of protesters toward Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and automakers’ Tesla locations in Texas. Images posted on social media show protesters waving signs such as “If You Hate Elon” and “Politics with Billionaire Brolick.”
As the day progressed, protests accumulated across the country outside Tesla, such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller Counterattackers groups also appear on certain sites.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk must go!” dozens of people shouted outside the showroom in Dublin, California, about 35 miles (60 miles) east of San Francisco, while smaller Trump supporters waved the American flag on the street.
A larger crowd hovered around another showroom in nearby Berkeley, calling for drums.
“We live in a fascist country and we need to stop this country or we will lose the entire country and everything that will do to the United States,” said Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from neighboring Oakland.
Anti-Muske sentiment surpasses the United States
Tesla’s defeat campaign also hopes to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnout in Europe is not that great, anti-Muske sentiment is similar.
About twenty people held signs that the billionaire was lashed out when passing cars and trucks brought support to Carss and Trucks.
A sign is shown depicting an image of Adolf Hitler next to Musk paying tribute to the Nazis, a gesture Musk was accused of reconsideration shortly after Trump’s inauguration on January 20. A man in a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume held up another sign with Musk’s straight arm posture, which read: “You think the Nazis are extinct. Don’t buy Swaskas.”
“We just want to make loud noises and make people aware of the problems we are facing,” said Cam Whitten, an American who appeared in the London protests.
The Tesla split was organized by a group of supporters, including car owners of disillusioned automakers, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Congressman, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.
“I will continue screaming in the congressional halls. I just need everyone to make sure everyone screams in the street,” Crockett said on a call this month.
Another Democratic Congressman, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, appeared in a protest in Seattle, where she represented in Congress.
Musk’s rebound includes some intentional damage
Some have gone beyond the protests to set Tesla’s vehicles on fire or commit other acts of vandalism, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned domestic terrorism. At the company meeting on March 20, Musk said he was shocked by the attack and said the vandals should “stop acting mentality.”
Crockett and other Tesla supporters have been highlighting the importance of Saturday’s protests.
But police are investigating a fire that destroyed seven Teslas in northwestern Germany in the early morning. It is not clear whether the fires put out by firefighters are related to the protests.
In Watertown, Massachusetts, local police reported that the black pickup’s side mirrors attacked two people during a protest outside the Tesla service center, the Boston Herald reported. The suspect was quickly confirmed by the police at the scene, who said he was not seriously injured.
Musk insists that the company’s future is still bright
More and more consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over Doge have been looking for a sale or deal, while others slapped the bumper sticker trying to keep his distance.
But Musk doesn’t seem worried about a prolonged decline in new sales at the March meeting, during which he assured workers that the company’s Model Y will remain “again the best-selling car on the planet this year.” He also predicts that by next year, Tesla will sell more than 10 million cars worldwide, up from about 7 million at present.
“Sometimes there are rocky moments, there are stormy weather, but I’m here to tell you that the future is very bright and exciting,” Musk said.
After Trump was elected last November, investors initially called Musk’s alliance with the president a positive development for Tesla and a lasting effort to launch a network of self-driving cars.
This optimism boosted Tesla’s stock by 70% between the election and Trump’s January 20 inauguration, creating $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But almost all of these gains evaporated amid investors’ concerns about lagging sales in the United States, Europe and China and the spending time supervising the Governor.
“This is still a moment of truth when Musk navigates this brand’s tornado crisis moment and goes to the other side of Tesla’s dark chapter,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.
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The story has been corrected to repair the spelling of the last name of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, which appeared in an earlier version.
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Associated Press writers Terry Chea in Berkeley, California, Mustakim Hasthath of London and Stefanie Dazio of Germany contributed.
Michael Liedtke, Associated Press
