Updated March 29, 2025 at 21:24 PM ET
LOS ANGELES — Tesla facilities worldwide have been the target of protests objecting to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's influential role in the Trump administration. On Saturday, anti-Musk protesters gathered again in what were their most ambitious and widespread rallies yet.
As part of the "Tesla Takedown" campaign, nonviolent demonstrations took place across the U.S. and even abroad on Saturday. Organizers called it a "global day of action" and said protests occurred in at least 253 cities around the world.
For weeks, the movement's organizers have been encouraging people to boycott the EV maker by selling their Tesla cars and stocks. According to Tesla Takedown, thousands of grassroots groups and individuals worldwide are driving the decentralized effort.
Musk and the White House did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
Protests erupt nationwide, raising alarms about Musk, democracy and the future of Social Security
At a rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, Phil Ansell, 65, said he felt compelled to join because he believes President Trump and Musk pose a threat to democracy.
"I want to do everything possible to protect democracy in this country," he said. "Trump and Musk are acting like kings."
Ansell added that he was especially excited to participate, seeing how far and wide the protest movement had spread.
Many people at the Los Angeles rally voiced deep concern over the devastating effect that the Trump administration's cuts and proposed changes could have on Social Security.
Francine Coeytaux, 72, who also attended the LA protest, said she showed up because she has a 37-year-old daughter with special needs who relies on Social Security benefits.
"It's what allows her to live independently and to be able to pay rent and pay [for] food," she said. "She's literally existing and living thanks to Social Security."
Beyond Los Angeles, demonstrations took place across small and major cities, in both red and blue states.
In Dallas, demonstrators held up a banner reading "Store closing. Everything must go!" outside of a Tesla dealership, according to a photo from an attendee posted on Facebook.
On a busy street in St. Louis County, Mo., protesters waved signs that read "No one elected Musk" and "Drive Tesla out of Biz" as cars passed by, FOX 2 reported.
And in New York City, near a Tesla showroom, a massive crowd chanted "Elon Musk shame on you. We deserve a future too," according to a video on Facebook.
How the Tesla Takedown movement began
Organizers say the Tesla Takedown movement is fueled by anger over Musk's slashing of the federal government, and that it aims to hit the billionaire where it hurts — the electric vehicle company that's become his main source of wealth.
Joel Lava, who has been helping lead Tesla Takedown protests in Los Angeles, says Musk's work to dismantle government agencies and workforce through the unofficially named DOGE initiative is the primary motivator for the movement's members.
"He's spearheading DOGE, which is spearheading our country's destruction — literally destroying our country's infrastructure," Lava said. "Therefore, we are taking direct aim at his power, which is his wealth, which is Tesla."
Musk critics point to a litany of other grievances, including his attacks on diversity, a gesture he made on the Inauguration Day stage that was widely interpreted to be a Nazi salute, and his support for far-right parties.
Musk's response to the pushback against Teslas
Since Musk's political turn, Tesla sales have slumped, and investors have grown uneasy. But market analysts question how much the dip in Tesla sales and shares can be pinned on its CEO's actions. Tesla has been losing market share to EV competitors for years. And the stock price has fallen in anticipation of auto tariffs. But the Trump administration's recently announced 25% import tariffs on cars made outside the U.S. could give the stock a welcome boost; auto industry analysts say that among domestic carmakers, Tesla will be the least impacted by the tariffs.
Some of the anti-Musk backlash has been violent. Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations across the U.S. and in Europe have been the target of arson and vandalism. Some have taken to spray-painting swastikas on Tesla sedans and Cybertrucks.
Tesla Takedown organizers say its participants are exercising their right to peacefully protest and that they oppose violence and property destruction.
But Musk did not make that distinction when he went after Valerie Costa, a community activist who has helped organize recent peaceful protests in the Seattle area as part of the Tesla Takedown demonstrations.
Musk, in a post on X earlier this month, accused Costa of "committing crimes," without giving evidence or specific allegations. That was after he claimed that an environmental activist group she cofounded was backed by the ActBlue, a fundraising platform for Democrats.
Costa told NPR that the accusations were false, and that Musk supporters subsequently targeted her in direct messages that included threats of physical violence.
"When one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful person in the world is saying you've committed a crime, it doesn't matter what the truth is," Costa said.
Tesla Takedown organizers say they want to chip away at Musk's power, and that starts with tarnishing Tesla's brand.
"Trump only likes [Musk] because he's rich," Lava, the LA-based organizer, said. "If suddenly Musk becomes just another boring, low-end billionaire, Trump will dump him too, and that will also show the power we have as people to effect change."
NPR's Juliana Kim contributed reporting.
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