Mary Gilmore, Staff Writer
In January, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk became the head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by President Donald J. Trump. Before being appointed to this role, Musk had no prior experience in government or in politics. Musk had built his fortune and success through the production of electric vehicles under Tesla, Inc. However, backlash against DOGE’s actions have now led to protests targeting Musk’s company.
Throughout Trump’s presidential campaign, Musk was by his side and seen during rallies. Sometimes when he was in attendance, Musk was even brought on stage for a speech of his own. When Trump was elected and created DOGE, people practically knew Musk would be the head before it was announced. However, his intense decisions while running DOGE has brought his authority into question.
A lot of DOGE’s decisions have surrounded DOGE finding areas they believed didn’t deserve resources and firing over a thousand federal employees in that area. This included areas of research, national park conservation, the department of education, and more.
The layoffs and dismantling of departments has led to anger among mostly democratic Americans. People across the country are questioning Musk’s ability and agenda to run DOGE, feeling his incorporation in legal decisions show more of his best interests rather than the best interests of the American people.
From there, the Tesla Takedown began. This protest movement has led to protestors rallying outside Tesla dealerships and taking their cause to the streets across the nation. Protestors call Tesla drivers to sell their vehicles, for stockholders to sell their stock invested in Tesla, and for people to protest at Tesla dealerships to make their message clear to Musk.
On Mar. 29, protestors responded to organizers calling for a global day of action, a series of protests occurring on the same day in different locations, against Tesla. On that day over 200 demonstrations were planned in the U.S. Tesla locations and over 250 protests actually occurred.
While the majority of the movement chooses to peacefully protest with signs, some people have taken extreme measures against Musk. According to CNN, civilian Paul Kim allegedly spray painted the word “RESIST” across the front doors of a Tesla facility before shooting at multiple vehicles and using a Molotov cocktail to set them on fire. While similar situations have happened, organizers of the Tesla Takedown have repeatedly stated that their protests are nonviolent and their demonstrations will remain strictly peaceful.
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