Nine protesters were arrested outside a New York City Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) dealership during a nationwide demonstration against Elon Musk’s role in federal job cuts under President Donald Trump. The protest, part of the "Tesla Takedown" movement, drew hundreds to Tesla showrooms in cities like Jacksonville, Florida, and Tucson, Arizona. Protesters blocked traffic, chanting and holding signs such as "Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy."
Musk, the world’s richest man, is leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has overseen the firing of thousands of federal employees and the termination of key contracts and leases. Since Trump's inauguration on January 20, at least 100,000 of the 2.3 million federal workers have accepted buyouts or been fired. Some agencies, including those handling nuclear security and disease control, are now scrambling to rehire critical staff.
Protest organizers urged Tesla stockholders to divest, calling the company Musk’s "flagship" and a direct target for those opposing the administration’s policies. Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter, who helped coordinate the protests, wrote in Rolling Stone that cutting Musk off from Tesla would be a significant blow to Trump’s agenda.
Neither Tesla nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
The protests highlight growing public outrage over the drastic federal workforce cuts, which critics argue threaten essential services and democracy. Demonstrators believe targeting Tesla could weaken Musk’s influence and financial backing for the administration’s policies.