- "Tesla Takedown" protests have happened in cities around the country in opposition to Elon Musk's DOGE work.
- Protesters are calling for Tesla owners to sell their stock and cars. Some owners have seen their vehicles vandalized.
- Tesla's stock price taken a hit this month and some shareholders told BI they want to sell their shares.
Criticism of Elon Musk has spilled out from the virtual walls of social networks and into the streets.
Demonstrators have gathered in cities around the US in recent days and weeks to participate in "Tesla Takedown" protests of varying sizes. Meanwhile, some Tesla owners have said they have faced insults or vandalism amid the Musk criticism.
Participants of the protests have called for a boycott of the EV giant in response to Musk's involvement with the Trump administration and DOGE's efforts to decrease the size of the federal workforce.
The "Tesla Takedown" effort started on BlueSky, a competitor to Musk's X platform, and now has a dedicated website. The site calls for Tesla owners to sell their vehicles and stock in an effort to "stop Musk now."
The website's organizer, "Bill & Ted" actor and filmmaker Alex Winter, wrote in a RollingStone op-ed that demonstrations have happened at over 100 Tesla showrooms and other locations.
Tesla owner and shareholder David Abrams told Business Insider he's heard about multiple protests but wasn't aware of the "takedown" effort specifically. Abrams said he added "Anti Elon Tesla Club" and "I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy" stickers to his car window, and is hoping that's enough to keep it from getting vandalized.
"I absolutely want to sell my car and my shares," Abrams said, adding that he's waiting for the stock price to go up and would have sold his car already if it made financial sense.
While boycotts aren't always effective at materially impacting a company's bottom line, Wedbush analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives wrote in a Monday note that Musk's role in DOGE had a "visible perceived downside impact" on the company's stock. Tesla's share price has dropped this week after figures showed a 45% year-over-year drop in Tesla sales in Europe last month amid Musk's vocal support of Germany's far-right AfD party.
Musk addressed some of the protests while speaking at CPAC last week, calling them "fake rallies" with "hardly any people" and saying the demonstrations didn't have "popular support."
Here's a closer look at some of the protests and anti-Tesla vandalism attempts that have taken place in recent weeks in the US.
Demonstrators gathered in Seattle on Saturday to protest against Musk and Tesla
Protesters gathered at various entrances to the University Village shopping mall in Seattle, as well as outside the Tesla showroom at the mall. Some of the signs called to "boycott Tesla" and "defund Musk."
Protesters rallied in front of a Tesla dealership in Fort Lauderdale
Demonstrators gathered in a line on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale in front of the Tesla dealership on Saturday to protest Musk and his work with DOGE. Over 200 people gathered outside of the dealership, local publication Sun Sentinel reported on February 22.
Multiple protests happened in San Francisco
The above image shows protesters gathered on February 17 outside Tesla's Van Ness location in San Francisco. Demonstrators chanted "No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here."
Other protests have appeared outside Tesla showrooms on several occasions recently, some of which clipped posters to the glass doors.
Some of the protests have included stints with cardboard cutouts of Musk
A demonstration outside a Tesla dealership in Virginia on February 25 included an elevated cardboard cutout of Uncle Sam burning in a Cybertruck. Next to the cutout, a woman held a sign with the words "Nobody elected Elon!"
Protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership in New Jersey
Rebecca Holloway, who posted the video, told BI that "people are fed up with the unchecked power of the ultra-wealthy" and are responding in their own way.
"The Tesla Takedown movement is about holding powerful people accountable — whether it's Elon Musk normalizing extremism or billionaires using their influence to shape our economy and politics to benefit themselves," Holloway, who posted the video, told BI.
Efforts to convince people to sell their Teslas were also seen in New York
A "sell your car" leaflet with a photograph of Musk's widely criticized gesture during a January 20th event celebrating Trump's election was spotted in Brooklyn.
Demonstrators also gathered in the Meatpacking neighborhood of New York City, and close to 300 demonstrators showed up outside the city at a Mount Kisko Tesla showroom to protest, News 12 Westchester reported.
Some Tesla owners have been subject to insults
Earlier today a group of people (elderly, at that) exited a BMW and as they walked past my Tesla, among other comments, called it a "Swastika car".
I also have seen several recent posts in San Diego of Teslas being randomly vandalized.
Since it appears fewer people than ideal… pic.twitter.com/lHHp6LDAYv
"Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how you can live with so much hate in your heart," Jed Bratt said in the post on X addressing Musk's critics.
At a Manhattan protest in Tesla's Meatpacking neighborhood, protesters shouted insults at Tesla vehicles, The Verge reported on Tuesday.
Some owners say their Teslas have been vandalized
One Tesla owner said he came back from a birthday dinner to writing on his car with an expletive aimed at Musk. While he was able to remove the writing, he said it still made him feel "violated" and want to get another truck.
It's not the first time Teslas have been vandalized. In June, a 35-second video showing a fleet of Cybertrucks spray painted with expletives about Musk went viral.
