Crowds protesting billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the US government under President Donald Trump began amassing outside Tesla
San Francisco: Crowds protesting billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the US government under President Donald Trump began amassing outside Tesla dealerships throughout the US Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.
The protesters are trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he’s gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending.
Most of Musk’s estimated USD 340 billion fortune consists of the stock he holds in the electric vehicle company that he continues to run while also working alongside Trump.
Earlier protests have been somewhat sporadic. Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centres in the US in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.
By early afternoon, crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the automaker’s home state of Texas.
Pictures posted on social media accounts showed protesters brandishing signs such as “Honk if you hate Elon” and “Fight the billionaire broligarchy.”
The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protestors at more than 230 Tesla locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe weren’t as large as the crowds in the US, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.
About two dozen protesters held signs lambasting Musk outside a Tesla dealership in London as passing cars and trucks tooted horns in support.
