Tesla could face its largest wave of anti-Elon Musk protests yet on Saturday, as the electric vehicle company has been the target of numerous violent incidents over the last two months.
Demonstrators are planning a “Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action,” with more than 200 protests scheduled at Tesla-affiliated locations nationwide.
“Elon Musk is destroying our democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it. We are taking action at Tesla to stop Musk’s illegal coup,” the event description for the protests on Action Network, a progressive organizing platform, says.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher. No one is coming to save us. Not politicians, not the media, not the courts,” it added. The description suggests the movement is peaceful.
Protesters are hoping to damage Musk’s Tesla brand with widespread demonstrations as they oppose his influence of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Tesla has faced targeted attacks in recent months amid a rise in protests. Incidents include firebombings, shootings, and swastikas or Nazi-related messages scrawled on vehicles. Earlier this week, a bomb squad in Austin, Texas, removed incendiary devices from a dealership, and a man was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to several Tesla vehicles.
“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said, noting that several people had been charged “with that in mind.”
Some of President Donald Trump’s supporters are looking to counterprotest with “Tesla Shield” demonstrations.
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Musk has blamed the “far-left” for the protests.
“They’re being fed propaganda by the far-left, and they believe it,” he told Fox News’s Bret Baier Thursday. “It’s really unfortunate. The real problem is not, like, you know, the crazy guy that firebombs a Tesla dealership. It’s the people pushing the propaganda that caused that guy to do it. Those are the real villains here, and we’re going to go after them. And the president has made it clear we’re going to go after them. The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and propaganda, we’re going after them.”