Immediately marked a second weekend of scattered protests at Tesla showrooms, following a “TeslaTakeover” hashtag that has been trending on Twitter different Bluesky this week. Protestors’ messages largely targeted on the divisive efforts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the top of the Division of Authorities Effectivity for the reason that begin of Donald Trump’s Presidency.
The protests don’t look like particularly giant, however they’re quite a few, starting from locations like New York to lesser-known locales like Minneapolis, Minnesota suburb Golden Valley. A piece of Motion Community’s web site for organizing protests reveals rallies deliberate for cities in Ohio, Florida, Washington, New Mexico, and Alberta, Canada.
Tesla traders have expressed concern that Musk’s actions are negatively impacting the corporate, which noticed its inventory value plummet by 21 p.c since Trump’s inauguration in line with an ABC story this week. Inside the corporate, workers and senior workers stated in a current assembly that “the corporate could be higher off if Musk resigned,” The Washington Publish reported.
One of many bigger rallies immediately was exterior of Tesla’s Manhattan showroom, the place a earlier protest happened on February ninth. Within the movies beneath, folks may be heard chanting, “Don’t purchase swasticars” and “Elon Musk can go to Mars; we don’t want your Nazi vehicles,” maybe referencing Musk’s help for far-right teams like Germany’s AfD get together or his suspicious salute on Inauguration Day.
Different posts confirmed what protests regarded like immediately in Berkeley, California:
San Francisco, California:
And Kansas Metropolis, Missouri:
Related gatherings occurred in Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Boston, Massachusetts. In the meantime, few seem to have proven up immediately in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Or Baltimore, Maryland, the place a single individual held an indication exterior a Tesla showroom:
Actor, director, and progressive activist Alex Winter, who closely promoted this weekend’s protests over the previous couple of days, posted a picture of himself holding an indication urging folks to promote their Teslas at a protest in Pasadena, California:
Winter re-shared posts from protests at Tesla showrooms within the California cities Corte Madera, San Jose, and Los Angeles, together with others from individuals who’d posted about rallies in Rockville, Maryland; Tucscon, Arizona; and Golden Valley, Minnesota.
There are a lot of posts on Bluesky with the #TeslaTakeover hashtag, however far fewer present up when looking out X, Instagram, or Threads. Outdoors of picketing, others protested Musk in numerous methods. Musician Sheryl Crow posted a video of a Tesla being pushed away on a flatbed truck, together with a message saying “There comes a time when it’s a must to determine who you might be prepared to align with. So lengthy Tesla,” and noting that she had donated the cash to NPR, which is at the moment threatened by an FCC investigation into public media.
Extra protests are anticipated, together with through the President’s Day vacation on Monday, with one set for Lowell, Maine and no less than one different in Richmond, Virginia. These are along with quite a few demonstrations deliberate this weekend that don’t goal Tesla showrooms however nonetheless relate to the actions of Musk, DOGE, and President Trump extra broadly.
