Protests against Elon Musk

Beginning in 2019, protests against Elon Musk emerged in response to a series of controversies, with the latest wave in 2025 focusing on his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the second Trump administration.[1][2][3]

Hundreds of demonstrations took place across the United States, accompanied by additional protests in Canada, Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.[4][5] Although the coordinated protests were largely peaceful, several incidents of vandalism were reported, along with the discovery of incendiary devices and explosives at Tesla facilities.[6][7][8]

Musk's involvement in far-right politics and European election campaigns further intensified the backlash on a global scale.[9] Protesters often targeted Tesla stores and showrooms, viewing them as extensions of Musk’s influence and a symbol of his perceived political and economic power.

Before Donald Trump's second administration

In 2019, Musk received widespread backlash after he called the British cave diver, Vernon Unsworth a "pedo guy" in a later deleted tweet after he didn't accept Musk's help in the Tham Luang cave rescue. Unsworth sued Musk for defamation, where Musk was found innocent.[10][11]

In July 2020, Musk also received backlash for his statement on Twitter, "We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it." This statement is referring to the coup against Evo Morales Ayma, the former president of Bolivia, where Musk's company, Tesla had interests in the lithium deposits.[12]

In June 2021, a handful of demonstrators protested outside the Tesla Fremont factory over Musk's involvement in cryptocurrency.[13]

During Donald Trump's second administration

Many anti-Musk protests from early 2025 were organized under the banner of Tesla Takedown.[17] A decentralized grassroots movement, Tesla Takedown coordinated peaceful demonstrations outside of Tesla showrooms.[18] Many of these protests primarily took place within the United States. However, some protests were held by the organizers to protest in Europe, in particular the United Kingdom, Germany, and Portugal. Some protests were also organized in Canada.

United States

On February3, protesters gathered outside the Office of Personnel Management and indicated that they would continue to protest for the rest of the week in opposition to DOGE and Musk. The protestors said that Musk had illegally taken control of the government's infrastructure,[19] and raised concerns that Musk was an unelected foreign national who was potentially stealing sensitive information stored in federal computer servers.

Vandalism

Cases of significant vandalism of Tesla property, including the defacing of thirty-four Cybertrucks in Florida started as early as December 2024.[34] Following initial reports regarding the controversial activities of DOGE, vandalism of Tesla properties spiked.[35][36]

A Tesla store in Loveland, Colorado, was damaged multiple times in late January and February. In Salem, Oregon, on January 20, witnesses stated that Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Tesla store sparking two fires doing an estimated half million in damages. Then, on February 19, the windows were damaged by bullets at the Salem Tesla store. On March 2, twelve Teslas were set on fire at a store in Toulouse, France, destroying eight vehicles and damaging four. Seven Tesla charging stations were set on fire near Boston on March 3. On March 6, at least seven shots were fired at a Tesla store in Tigard, Oregon.[37][38]

Impact on Brand

The stock price has been affected by several factors such as lower sales from the vehicles being a target of vandalism, but also from his controversial political activities.[47]

Tesla owner responses

In March 2025 it was reported that some Tesla owners were putting bumper stickers on their cars to clarify to others that despite driving a Tesla, they do not support Musk.[48] That month, a Hawaii-based designer reported earning $100,000 a month from selling the stickers.[49]

External links

References

Anti-DOGE protests at Tesla stores target Elon Musk's bottom line AP News, March 2, 2025, retrieved March 17, 2025^
Cybele Mayes-Osterman. 'Fork off': Protesters gather outside OPM to condemn Elon Musk 'stealing' personal data USA TODAY, retrieved March 17, 2025^
Jackie Bensen. Federal workers protest over DOGE access to Treasury Department data

Domestic terrorism allegations

On March 11, 2025, amid the growing surge of vandalism and protests against Musk, U.S president Donald Trump stated that an act of violence against property of any company, particularly on Tesla dealerships, will be considered as domestic terrorism, saying perpetrators "will go through hell".[41]

On March 20, NPR reported that the arrest of three people who had vandalized Tesla dealerships and charging stations raised the question of whether or not such actions constituted domestic terrorism. NPR reported that these cases had included "using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations and possessing other 'incendiary devices' and a suppressed AR-15 rifle." NPR stated, "While no one has been injured or killed by these attacks, three professors and researchers of domestic terrorism and extremism tell NPR that they consider these cases to be acts of domestic terrorism." Bruce Hoffman, senior fellow for counterterrorism and homeland security at the Council on Foreign Relations said, "It's absolutely domestic terrorism. I know that may discomfort many people. But vandalism is a crime that if it's committed with a political motive, can certainly be defined as terrorism."[42]

On March 21, Trump reiterated his belief that Tesla vandals were terrorists, comparing the vandalism to the January 6 United States Capitol attack and claiming that "nobody was killed" during the Capitol riot aside from Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by Capitol police while attempting to breach the Speaker's Lobby. However, several Capitol police officers died by suicide in the weeks following the riot and roughly 140 officers were injured during the attack. No deaths or serious injuries had been reported in connection with the Tesla protests.[43]

Musk's response

When questioned about the vandalism while speaking with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Musk claimed without evidence that the vandalism and violence were originating from Democrats. He stated, "It's really come as quite a shock to me, this violence from the left. I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they're burning down cars, and firing bullets into dealerships... Tesla is a peaceful company. We've never done anything harmful, I've never done anything harmful. I've always done productive things." Musk further added how he believed there was a "mental illness thing going on", and suggested that the perpetrators were being led by a "larger force" who was funding and coordinating the violence. Law enforcement and domestic terrorism experts have found no evidence that the attacks are coordinated.[44]

Musk also alleged that the violence was caused by individuals upset with being denied benefits that were obtained fraudulently, claiming that "... when you take away the money they're receiving fraudulently, they get very upset... They basically want to kill me because I'm stopping their fraud and they want to hurt Tesla because we're stopping this terrible waste and corruption in the government. And well, I guess they're bad people. Bad people do bad things."[45]

Musk also alleged that transgender people were behind the incidents, saying that, "The probability of a trans person being violent appears to be vastly higher than non-trans."[46]