The "Tesla Takedown" is a protest movement that emerged in early 2025, targeting Tesla, Inc. and its CEO, Elon Musk.[1] Protesters have organized demonstrations at Tesla dealerships across the United States and Europe and urged the public to divest from Tesla by selling their vehicles and stocks. The movement's goal is to economically impact Musk and challenge his political influence.[2]
The movement arose in response to Musk's involvement in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which includes his roles in the Department of Government Efficiency and 2025 United States federal mass layoffs.[3]Musk serves as an advisor to the Trump administration and the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) office. Its purpose is to carry out Trump's agenda of federal spending cuts and deregulation, and, according to the order that established it, to "modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity".[4][5][6]
First demonstrations
A protestor in Columbus, Ohio, in early February 2025
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 claimed that Musk had illegally taken control of the government's infrastructure,[7] and raised concerns that Musk was an unelected foreign national who was potentially stealing sensitive information stored in federal servers.[8]
On February 5th, a rally was organized in front of the Treasury Department the next day via word of mouth and social media, with initially 50 participants that grew into hundreds. Participants included federal workers, retirees and others who were alarmed and angry over Musk and DOGE's actions and its trajectory, chanting "Elon Musk has to go" and signs reading "No Trump, No Musk, No Fascist USA" and "Musk owns Trump". Democratic politicians such as Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Maxine Waters spoke out at the protest.[9][10]
Mobilization
Actor Alex Winter started organizing after speaking with sociologist Joan Donovan, who suggested a Tesla protest.[11] Efforts for the initial round of protests were coordinated via the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.[12]
Around February 15, 2025, protestors appeared at Tesla showrooms in numerous cities in the US. One of the larger protests was outside Tesla's Manhattan, NY, showroom, where protestors could be heard chanting "Elon Musk can go to Mars; we don't need your Nazi cars" referring to the Elon Musk salute controversy and Musk's support for Alternative for Germany. Protests also took place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, and Kansas City among others. Musician Sheryl Crow posted to social media a video showing a flatbed truck removing a Tesla she had sold in protest.[13]
Hundreds appeared at a San Francisco showroom on February 19. Workers included Hai Binh Nguyen, who lamented the halting of her work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she takes action against unfair business practices. Protestors also expressed concerns that government services would be privatized and sold off to billionaires.[14]
At an early March protest in New York City, nine individuals were arrested during a demonstration at a Tesla dealership.[15][16] Hundreds protested outside a dealership in Owings Mills, Maryland.[17] A protest occurred in Superior, Colorado.[18] Similar protests occurred in cities like Jacksonville, Florida, and Tucson, Arizona, where participants carried signs with slogans such as "Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy."[19]
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