Protests against Tesla: Activists aim to hit Musk's "weak spot" and mobilize against Trump's "tech oligarchy"

Neue Zürcher Zeitung Protests against Tesla: Activists aim to hit Musk's "weak spot" and mobilize against Trump's "tech oligarchy" Christian Weisflog, Rockville • 15 hours • 5 minutes read A demonstration also took place in front of a Tesla store in Los Angeles. After their election defeat in November, the Democrats were paralyzed. Unlike in 2016, this time a majority of Americans voted for Donald Trump. There is no doubt about his democratic legitimacy. Two months after his inauguration, however, a new resistance movement is growing in the US. It is not primarily directed against the president, but against his most important advisor and financier: tech billionaire Elon Musk. Every weekend, demonstrators across the country gather in front of stores of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, founded by Musk. Like in around 80 other cities, a few hundred protesters lined up in Rockville – a northern suburb of the capital Washington – in front of a showroom along a busy street on Saturday. Their signs read "Honk if you hate Elon," "Buy a Tesla, feed a fascist," and "Say no to swasticas!" – a play on the English words for swastika and cars. Mostly peaceful, but not only Bob Corlett has been standing on the side of the road in Rockville for the second Saturday now. "Many of my friends are just depressed," says the managing director of a recruiting firm. "They feel like there's nothing they can do." After all, Trump and the Republicans control not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress, and the Supreme Court also has a conservative majority among the justices. But the protests against Tesla are now very effectively hitting a "weak spot," Corlett believes. Last Saturday, he came to the protest with only a flag. "On Monday, Tesla's share price plummeted 13 percent." Now he's made a sign. It reads: "The only fraud Trump found was Elon." With a wink, Corlett adds: "I hope the share price plummets another 20 percent on Monday." With his sign, Corlett is referring to the Office for Government Efficiency (DOGE), controlled by Musk. This office is leading the current firings of tens of thousands of federal officials. Musk and Trump repeatedly claim that DOGE has uncovered large-scale fraud totaling billions of dollars during its audit of numerous agencies. However, they also seem to understand fraud to include the use of taxpayer money for left-wing programs approved by Congress. Musk supported Trump during the election campaign with around $300 million. Although he is not elected or confirmed by the Senate, he now exerts considerable influence over government affairs. He's not only concerned with dismantling the state, but is also actively interfering in foreign policy, for example, by supporting the AfD in the German federal elections. "This power for unelected people like Musk is extremely dangerous," Corlett believes. And he's obviously not alone in this feeling. Jeffrey Weisner also attended the rally on Saturday. He works for an organization that analyzes protests "against the Trump regime," he says. "These Tesla protests seem to be generating the most energy." People who wouldn't normally attend demonstrations are participating. "Musk is obviously angry about it, and this is giving them additional attention." Recently, Musk attacked activist Valerie Costa, a leading voice in the nationwide "Tesla Takedown" movement. "Costa is committing crimes," Musk wrote on his short message service X. It's a peaceful protest movement against Trump's "tech oligarchy," Costa wrote later in a commentary for the Guardian. But the vicious reactions from Musk and his supporters showed that their campaign was working. While the demonstration in Rockville also remained peaceful, there have also been violent incidents in the US recently: Tesla stores were shot at, cars in front of them were set on fire, and charging stations were also set ablaze in several locations. "We are 100 percent peaceful," emphasized Rob Wald, who organized the rally in Rockville. The violence is counterproductive. Musk is trying to destroy American democracy, and they are now fighting against it every weekend: "We are hitting Musk's wallet and want to drive Tesla into bankruptcy." A firefighter inspects a burned-out Tesla in Seattle last week. It hasn't come to that yet. While Tesla sales plummeted by 50 percent in some European countries, they fell by 11 percent in the US in January. After Trump's election victory, the value of Tesla shares had plummeted.