Protestors are assembling at Tesla dealers across the nation. However, they’re not showing up to voice their disdain for the brand’s electric vehicles. Instead, the protestors are deeply concerned over Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his influence. 

Protests are forming at Tesla dealers with one thing in common: Elon Musk

Berkeley, California isn’t keen on pollution-spewing, gas-guzzling ICE vehicles. However, protesters in the University town aren’t focused on legacy automakers and their ICE vehicles today. No, demonstrators are gathering at Tesla dealers to protest the EV automaker’s controversial CEO, Elon Musk.  

It’s not just Berkeley, either. Protestors have gathered at Tesla dealerships and showrooms from coast to coast using hashtags like #TeslaTakeover to organize. Demonstrators in Seattle brandished signs with anti-Elon Musk statements like, “Telsa funds fascists,” and “Arrest Musk.”

Many of the demonstrators claim they’re disturbed by Musk’s authority and influence within the United States government. President Donald Trump appointed the South African businessman as one of the heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting initiative that allows Musk to advise the government while maintaining his business interests in companies like Tesla and SpaceX.

As a result, protestors are forming at Tesla dealers to make their concerns public. “It’s a place where we can make a visible stand against him personally,” a Berkeley protester named Linda Koistinen told the BBC. “He should not be deciding the fate of our democracy by disassembling our government piece by piece. It’s not right.”

However, not every protest is so peaceful. The news follows threats from a California student organization to vandalize Tesla vehicles, citing anti-Nazism in a series of ominous notes. “Students Against Nazi Extremism” or “SANE,” claimed it wanted to create “shame” for the brand’s owners as part of a protest against Elon Musk and his “fascist, racist, misogynist and criminal behavior.”