Protest billionaire Elon Musk, under U.S. government under U.S. President Donald Trump, began to accumulate in Tesla dealerships and in certain European cities on Saturday in a bid to curb wealth for the world's wealthiest people.
Protesters are trying to escalate the movement against Tesla dealers and vehicles to oppose Musk’s role as head of the newly formed government efficiency department or threshold department, where he can access sensitive data and shut down the entire agency as he tries to cut government spending. Musk's estimated $340 billion in wealth consists of shares he holds in electric vehicle companies, and he continues to work with Trump.
The earlier protests were somewhat sporadic. Saturday marked the first attempt around U.S. automakers’ showrooms and service centers in an effort to deepen the company’s recent decline in sales.
By afternoon, from dozens to hundreds of protesters flocked to New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Minnesota and automakers’ Texas. Images posted on social media accounts show protesters waving signs such as “If You Hate Elon” and “Fight against Billionaire Broligarchy.”
Demonstrators oppose Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a “Tesla recall” protest outside Tesla stores in New York on March 29, 2025.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
The Tesla defeat campaign also hopes to rally protesters at over 230 Tesla locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnout in Europe is not as large as the American population, anti-Muske sentiment is similar.
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About twenty dozen protesters were holding violent musk outside a Tesla dealership in London, as cars and trucks passed by provided support to Horns.
A sign displayed in the London protests showed a photo of Musk next to a photo of Adolf Hitler paying tribute to the Nazis, a gesture Musk accused of reconsidering shortly after Trump took office on January 20. A man in a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume held up another sign with Musk's straight arm posture, which read: “You think the Nazis are extinct. Don't buy Swaskas.”
A group of protesters gathered outside the Tesla dealership in London, England on March 29, 2025.
Aysu BiCer/Anadolu via Getty Images
“We just want to make loud noises and make people aware of the problems we are facing,” said Cam Whitten, an American who appeared in the London protests.
The Tesla split was organized by a group of supporters, including car owners of disillusioned automakers, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Congressman, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.
“I will continue screaming in the congressional halls. I just need everyone to scream in the streets,” Crockett said during a conference call for Tesla evacuation organisation earlier this month.
Some opposing Musk went beyond the protests, catching automakers’ vehicles on fire and committing other acts of vandalism, with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi condemning domestic terrorism. Musk said he was shocked by the attack at the company meeting on March 20 and said vandals should “stop acting mentality.”
Crockett and other Tesla-beating supporters have been underscoring the importance of protests on Saturday to keep peace.
But police are investigating a fire that destroyed seven Tesla cars in northwestern Germany early Saturday morning. It is not clear whether the fires put out by firefighters are related to Tesla's protests.
More and more consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over Doge have been looking to sell or trade on cars, while others slapped bumper stickers in an attempt to distance themselves from billionaires’ efforts to trim or close government agencies.
But Musk doesn't seem to be worried about the extension of sales of the new Tesla car in his speech to employees on March 20. He assured workers that the company's refreshed model Y will remain “again the best-selling car on the planet this year.” He also predicts that by next year, Tesla will sell more than 10 million cars worldwide, and now there are about 7 million cars.
“Sometimes there are rocky moments, there are stormy weather, but I'm here to tell you that the future is very bright and exciting,” Musk said.
After Trump was elected last November, investors initially called Musk's alliance with the president a positive development for Tesla and a lasting effort to launch a network of self-driving cars.
That optimism boosted Tesla's stock by 70% between Trump's November 5 election and his January 20 inauguration, creating an additional $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But almost all of these gains evaporates amid investors' fears of Tesla's rebound, lagging sales in the United States, Europe and China, and spending time monitoring the Governor.
“This is still a moment of truth when Musk browses this brand's tornado crisis moment and goes to the other side of the dark chapter,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a research note ahead of Saturday's protests.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
