Protests are scheduled at Tesla stores worldwide this Saturday, February 15, as part of a grassroots campaign dubbed the “Tesla Takeover.”
Demonstrators plan to gather at Tesla locations at 11 a.m. local time and use the hashtag #TeslaTakeover. Despite the lack of formal leadership, organizers hope to draw global participation.
Protests and Boycott Campaign
The demonstrations, largely organized through the Bluesky social media platform, are primarily aimed at Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Participants are calling for a boycott of Tesla, citing Musk’s recent political activity and influence in the U.S. and abroad. The online campaign gained traction after prominent Bluesky users, including the hacker collective Anonymous, promoted the protest on their accounts.
Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government. Organizers cited 37 protests across the country as part of an effort coordinated through the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakeover. Musk’s car company is emerging as a target for political outrage in the US and Europe in response to the billionaire’s outsized influence in the White House. Through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has orchestrated the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants and gained access to sensitive US Treasury payments. He has also voiced his support for the German far-right and called for the centre-left government of Sir Keir Starmer in the UK to be thrown out.
Political Statements and Vandalism
The UK campaign group Led by Donkeys joined with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty in January to project the image, part of a longer montage of Musk’s recent political statements. The group said it was produced in response to the Tesla chief executive’s endorsement of the German far-right political party, the AfD. Local news outlets have reported on arson and attempted arson at Tesla showrooms in Oregon and Colorado. Earlier this month, a Tesla showroom in The Hague was defaced with graffiti that included swastikas and anti-fascist slogans. Dutch police confirmed to the FT that they were in contact with Tesla and the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had yet been made.
Impact on Tesla’s Stock
Tesla’s stock, which climbed after the presidential election, fell 6 per cent on Tuesday to $328.50. It rebounded to close the week at $355.84 but is still down 12 per cent since the start of the year. “The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time — even more than we expected — to DOGE takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “In addition, Musk’s DOGE-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”
About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies.” Edward Niedermeyer, author of ‘Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors’, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.
Threats to Tesla Vehicles
Separately, a group called Students Against Nazi Extremists (SANE) mid-February announced plans to vandalize Tesla cars, trucks, and SUVs in four California cities — Arcata, Hayward, Seaside, and Rohnert Park — unless their owners sold the vehicles. According to local police and reports from the Lost Coast Outpost, the group cited Elon Musk’s political statements and alleged far-right affiliations as their motivation. Arcata Police confirmed receiving multiple reports of threats and flyers left on Teslas, including one incident where a brick was placed on a vehicle’s windshield with a note stating “No Nazis in America.” “During the week of February 3, 2025, several Tesla owners residing in the City of Arcata reported discovering suspicious flyers left on their vehicles,” read a statement from the Arcata Police Department. “Law enforcement is aware of this type of activity occurring in communities across the state and is monitoring the situation.”
Halted Tesla Armoured Vehicle Contract
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has removed references to a proposed US$400-million purchase of Tesla armoured electric vehicles from its 2025 federal contracts documents. The decision follows the emergence of reports about the planned deal, initially explored under the Biden administration. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Tesla was the only manufacturer to express interest in the contract, which would have been the largest federal vehicle purchase of the year. The agency clarified that no contract had been awarded and that the entry denoting “Tesla” specifically in the federal procurement system was a data error, which has been corrected to list a generic “electric vehicle manufacturer.” The automaker says it has no plans to fulfill such an order. The State Department indicated that another, separate pending purchase specifically naming German automaker BMW remains under review.
Legal Actions Against Musk
Meanwhile, American leaders are pleading with the courts to curb Musk’s “unconstitutional” scorched earth approach to federal oversight and optimization. On Feb. 13, 14 state attorney generals filed a lawsuit against Musk, challenging the legality of DOGE’s actions and asking for the court to bar Musk from issuing orders to bodies outside of the executive branch or overseeing the disbursement of federal funds. Earlier that week, a group of cybersecurity bodies, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), filed a lawsuit against Musk’s DOGE for having “illegally forced” the Office of Personnel Management and Treasury Department to give up Americans’ sensitive digital information to “unauthorized, untrained personnel.” The lawsuit called it the “largest data breach in U.S. history.”
