Pressure ratchets up from Trump administration, Musk, and allies ahead of planned Tesla Takedown mass protests
Rebecca Cook/REUTERS
- The Tesla Takedown movement is aiming for a global day of protest at 500 Tesla showrooms on March 29.
- An organizer of the protest said she faced doxxing and online threats.
- The Trump administration and its allies have recently amped up their defense of Tesla.
The Trump administration and its allies have ramped up the pressure ahead of a planned protest on March 29 that aims to target 500 Tesla showrooms worldwide.
The Tesla Takedown movement is protesting Elon Musk's involvement with the White House DOGE office, which has been a lightning rod of criticism over concerns about privacy and potential disruption to public services.
Alice Hu, one of the leaders of Tesla Takedown, based in New York City, said she faced doxxing and threats following a March 19 online call about the coming protests.
Hu, who is a US-born American citizen, told Business Insider that many of those threats occurred after Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media influencer with more than 1.5 million followers on X, posted that Hu "is Chinese."
The Tesla Takedown movement has focused on peaceful protests at Tesla showrooms, as was repeatedly emphasized by Hu and other organizers, who don't want their movement to be conflated with sporadic acts of vandalism and arson against Tesla cars and showrooms.
Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman last month in connection to an attack on a Tesla dealership, and authorities arrested a man in South Carolina whom they said set fire to Tesla charging stations. There is so far no evidence that these individual acts are connected to organizers of Tesla Takedown.
"It is a reality that there could be escalation from the police and counter-protestors trying to provoke violence, and we are trying to educate each other on how to de-escalate situations," said Hu. "The only thing we can control is our own conduct."
President Donald Trump has suggested that acts of vandalism against Tesla are "domestic terrorism." FBI director Kash Patel created a task force to investigate apparent attacks against Tesla showrooms and cars and wrote in a tweet that "those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice."
Trump also suggested via a social media post that those found guilty of participating in Tesla-related crimes be sent to prisons in El Salvador. Musk accused a protest organizer in Seattle of "committing crimes" without evidence.
During an interview on Fox News's Hannity, Attorney General Pam Bondi also demanded that Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, who called for protests against Musk on March 29, apologize to Tesla shareholders for "promoting violence."
Meanwhile, the administration is also propping up Tesla and Musk, who serves as a White House advisor.
Trump showcased Teslas in front of the White House and said he would gift his granddaughter a Cybertruck, while Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urged people to buy Tesla stock during an interview on Fox News.
As of this week, Tesla's shares plunged nearly 40% compared to their peak in December 2024. Given Musk's time commitment to DOGE, investors are concerned about the CEO's commitment to Tesla. The company's sales have plummeted in Europe and China, and Cybertrucks just faced a fresh round of recalls.
The First Amendment protects peaceful protests, but a legal expert is concerned
Sarah Ludington, director of the First Amendment Clinic at the Duke School of Law, told Business Insider that although the government is by law entitled to investigate organizations suspected of crimes, and separate from that, voice its opposition to certain points of view, Musk's ability to potentially influence government decisions does complicate the situation.
"People from the private sector who go into government sort of divorce themselves of their private sector ties when they accept a high-level government position, like putting their investments in a blind trust," said Ludington, "but now we have somebody highly placed in the government who can potentially influence the executive to crack down on certain points of view."
Additionally, Ludington said there are reasons to be concerned for undocumented and non-citizen protesters who could be targeted by immigration enforcement. This is a concern that Hu shares.
"I am a US-born American citizen, but regardless of citizenship status, it's very concerning to me and many other Americans, what is happening to non-citizen protesters," she said, referring to recent incidents where pro-Palestinian student protesters have been targeted by immigration enforcement and could face deportation.
However, the comments from the administration and others have only strengthened Hu's resolve.
"These protests are not stopping just because people like Elon Musk are trying to harass and intimidate protesters," said organizer Alice Hu, "I feel like this is motivating me more because the peaceful protests we are organizing are working."