BOSTON: Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the US Saturday to protest the automaker鈥檚 billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and his push to slash government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump.
The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musk鈥檚 disruptive role in Washington.
Critics of Trump and Musk hope to discourage and stigmatize purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the world鈥檚 most valuable automaker. Liberal groups for weeks have organized anti-Tesla protests in hopes of galvanizing opposition to Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency and energizing Democrats still demoralized by Trump鈥檚 November victory.
鈥淲e can get back at Elon,鈥� said Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who was protesting in Boston on Saturday. 鈥淲e can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas.鈥�
Musk is taking direction from Trump to slash federal spending and sharply reduce the workforce, arguing that Trump鈥檚 victory gave the president and him a mandate to restructure the US government. DOGE officials have swiftly gained access to sensitive databases, directed thousands of federal job cuts, canceled contracts and shut down sections of the government, including the US Agency for International Development.
Musk鈥檚 critics say his actions defy Congress鈥檚 power to control the US budget and present a host of ways for him to enrich himself. Musk leads several other companies, notably SpaceX, which conducts launches for NASA and the intelligence community, and the social media platform X.
鈥淧rotests will not deter President Trump and Elon Musk from delivering on the promise to establish DOGE and make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country,鈥� said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields.
Tesla did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
More than 50 demonstrations were listed Saturday on the website Tesla Takedown, with more planned later in March from coast to coast in the United States along with England, Spain and Portugal. News reports showed demonstrations in recent days in US cities including Tucson, Arizona; St. Louis; New York City; Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte; and Palo Alto, California.
Some Tesla owners have also reported their vehicles vandalized with spray painted swastikas amid what Jewish groups and observers fear is a rise in antisemitism.
Federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words 鈥淣azi cars鈥� spray painted on the building.
Saturday鈥檚 demonstration in Boston had a festive atmosphere, with a brass band playing music as protesters carried signs and chanted. Several of the signs mocked Musk and DOGE, with one reading: 鈥淪top Elon and his despicable Muskrats.鈥�
鈥淭his government led by Trump and Musk, it鈥檚 gone completely off the rails and we are here to stop that,鈥� said Carina Campobasso, a retired federal worker. 鈥淎nd I hope they listen.鈥�
About 300 demonstrators protested at a Tesla dealership in New York City on Saturday. Police said nine people were taken into custody but did not elaborate on the charges they faced.
Tesla鈥檚 share price has fallen by nearly a third since Trump took office, though it鈥檚 still higher than it was a year ago. Musk鈥檚 current net worth is an estimated $359 billion, according to Forbes, which calculated his 2024 net worth as $195 billion.