# Tesla Takedown

The "Tesla Takedown" is a protest movement that arose in early 2025 targeting Tesla, Inc. and its CEO, Elon Musk. Protesters have organized demonstrations at Tesla stores across the United States and Europe and urged the public to divest from Tesla by selling their vehicles and shares of Tesla stock. The decentralized movement's goal is to economically impact Musk and challenge his political influence.

## Purpose

Activist Valerie Costa stated the movement's "intention is to make a strong public stand against the tech oligarchy behind the Trump administration’s cruel and illegal actions, and to encourage Americans to sell their Teslas and dump the company’s stock." Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter characterized Tesla Takedown as anti-Elon Musk instead of the company itself, with Musk being its “toxic figurehead”.

## Background

The movement arose in response to Musk's involvement in US president Donald Trump's administration, which includes Musk's role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and in the 2025 United States federal mass layoffs. Musk serves as a senior advisor to the president and is the leader of DOGE. DOGE's purpose is to carry out Trump's agenda of federal spending cuts and deregulation, and, according to the order that established it, to "modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity".

## Mobilization

Alex Winter started amplifying early discussions and calls for boycott on Bluesky after speaking with sociologist Joan Donovan, who suggested a Tesla protest. Efforts for the initial round of protests were coordinated via the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.
Around February 15, 2025, protestors appeared at Tesla showrooms in numerous cities in the US. One of the larger protests was outside Tesla's Manhattan showroom, where protestors could be heard chanting "Elon Musk can go to Mars; we don't need your Nazi cars" referring to the Elon Musk salute controversy and Musk's support for Alternative for Germany and "Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy". Protests also took place in San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, and Kansas City among others. Musician Sheryl Crow posted to social media a video showing a flatbed truck removing a Tesla she had sold in protest.
Hundreds appeared at a San Francisco showroom on February 19. Workers included Hai Binh Nguyen, who lamented the halting of her work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she takes action against unfair business practices. Protestors also expressed concerns that government services would be privatized and sold off to billionaires.
At an early March protest in New York City, nine individuals were arrested during a demonstration at a Tesla store. Hundreds protested outside a store in Owings Mills, Maryland. A protest occurred in Superior, Colorado. Similar protests occurred in cities like Jacksonville, Florida, and Tucson, Arizona, where participants carried signs with slogans such as "Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy."
On March 11, twenty-three New York State Senators sent a letter to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli urging him to divest the New York State pension fund from Tesla, stating that, "Given Tesla’s ongoing volatility and significant profit decline, we should seriously evaluate the risks of continued investment and its impact on the pension fund’s stability."
On March 16, around 100 people gathered at a Tesla service center in Stamford and was organized by the actor and comedian, Mary Beth Barone. Many protesters voiced their support for Senator Chris Murphy.

## Response

Musk responded to the protests with a Twitter post accusing Valerie Costa of "committing crimes", which led to harassment of the activist. Donald Trump arranged a promotional press briefing featuring a number of Tesla vehicles and Musk, stating he would buy a Tesla. Trump also said he would classify people who vandalize Tesla cars or trucks as domestic terrorists. This marked a shift from Trump's previous strong opposition to electric vehicles; in September 2023, speaking at Drake Enterprises in Michigan, Trump had claimed EVs would "spell the death of the U.S. auto industry" and stated "I'm not a person that wants to go all electric, I think it's going to be very bad for the country."