by
CNN
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Demonstrants gathered on more than 50 Tesla showrooms in the United States on Saturday in protest from the role of CEO Elon Musk in the lowering of government agencies as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency founded by President Donald Trump.
The protests are part of “Tesla Takedown”, who, according to her website, hopes to “sell your Teslas, to dump your shares, to participate in the picket lines.”
“Creating a mood of no confidence in him of the shareholders, that would be the ultimate goal,” said Alex Winter, a Los Angeles -based actor and filmmaker who is one of the most important organizers, CNN said.
The first Tesla Takedown protest was on February 15 after De Winter spoke with Joan Donovan, a sociologist and professor at Boston University, who presented a Tesla protest for Bluesky, an alternative to Musk’s X.
Musk, the world’s richest person, began to lead to Doge on January 20. The role of Musk has received criticism from the start, partly due to buyout offers to federal employees in addition to massive dismissals; dismantle the American Bureau for International Development; And seek access to sensitive payment systems.
The Tesla Takedown movement also wins international grip. There was a protest on Friday in Barcelona, and three protests were set for this weekend in London; Lisbon, Portugal; And Reykjavik, Iceland, according to the winter.
“I am very satisfied, even with where we are now,” he said. “We have given people an easy way to protest in a very difficult time.”
Protests are varied in size, with some of the largest demonstrations that take place in the cities of Boston and Portland, as well as in California and Florida, according to the winter. About 1,000 protesters gathered on Saturday with signs in Tucson, Arizona. In Washington, DC, what only two protesters were outside a showroom near Georgetown, until about 20 within an hour.
The demonstration included “Elon Musk must go”, as well as drivers who honk horns.
Peter Jones, a 59-year-old pilot, told CNN that he was looking for upcoming protests on Friday but found no. He said if his wife hadn’t been, who heard the singing and was curious about the protest, they would have missed.
“It feels great, because at the moment I feel powerless,” Jones said. “Nobody can keep track of all destruction. I don’t feel empowered unless we take to the streets; That is one thing we have is mass. ”
The wife of Jones, Bonnie Jones, said she is worried about Musk’s other investments and contracts, including the High-Speed Internet Service Starlink, because Musk was not properly screened through a confirmation hearing such as other Trump instructions.
Donna Powell, a pensioner in the Washington, DC, area, CNN said that this is her 20th protest against the Trump government and the involvement of Musk.
“Tesla shares have fallen and we want to go on and we want to see Musk hurt,” said Powell. “We also hope that the congress will grow a spine and do what they are chosen to do for.”
Falling turnover, so that investors can sell their shares, damages the value of Tesla – which is much of Musk’s net value. He has nearly 411 million shares of Tesla, or 13% of the company.
Tesla did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
In December Musk became the first person to have a capital more than $ 400 billion. Since then he has lost $ 52 billion in the net value, since 27.6% shares of Tesla (TSLA) were deposited in February.
It is unclear whether the Tesla Takedown movement will have a great impact on the company. Jessica Caldwell, head of insights on Automotive Site Edmunds, noted that there was no shot in Tesla owners who judge their used cars.
Some hesitation could be that selling a car depends on other factors, including the costs for buying a new vehicle, while the interest rates are high and because Teslas is now less expensive, she said.
Although Tesla can be confronted with pushback because of the involvement of Musk in the government, some Tesla owners and potential buyers Tesla probably separate as a Musk company, she said. Caldwell added that the attention that Musk received from Doge was not good for the Tesla company.
“If you look at the other car companies, most people couldn’t call other automotive CEO and much less their opinion about politics,” Cndwell told CNN.
Tesla reported the global turnover of 1.79 million in 2024, compared to 1.81 million in 2023. The fall of 1.1% was the first annual decrease in Tesla in 12 years.
Tesla recently reported a decrease in turnover by 16% between December and January. That was an improvement after the sale of Tesla fell by 24% between December 2023 and January 2024.
Another explanation for reduced sale may be that Tesla has not made many new changes, said Caldwell. Apart from a few innovations to old models and the release of the cyber truck, the cars are “a little older”. The company is also a smaller part of the makers of electric vehicles because it is confronted with increased competition from General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and other brands.
