PNW residents join global 'Day of Action' against Tesla, Elon Musk
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Hundreds protested outside Tesla dealerships across Oregon and Southwest Washington on Saturday, joining an international movement combating Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump.
From Tigard to Portland and Vancouver, people joined protesters at roughly 500 Tesla dealerships across the world, according to activist organizers.
"Having an unelected billionaire, tasked through executive fiat, to make changes to our government is deeply alarming and anti-democratic," noted protester Matt Geiger.
But there were mixed feelings among those in attendance.
"There has been a lot of news in the past about people attacking Tesla dealerships, causing damage, starting fires, firing guns. And I completely support the First Amendment and people's right to free speech and express their opinions," said Micah Kaufmann, a counter-protester. "I do not support the idea of character assassination and property destruction and putting other people in harm's way."
After joining the Trump administration, Musk has gone forward with policies to eliminate what he calls, waste fraud and abuse. This has resulted in cuts to federal funding, tens of thousands of job losses and the dismantlement of government agencies.
KOIN 6 News has reached out to the Tesla media team. This story will be updated when we hear back.
Around the world
Earlier protests have been somewhat sporadic. But Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.
The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protestors at more than 230 Tesla locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe weren't as large as the crowds in the U.S., the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.
Tesla Takedown was organized by a group of supporters that included disillusioned owners of the automaker’s vehicles, celebrities such as actor John Cusack and at least one Democratic Party lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.
Some people opposed to Musk have gone beyond protests and set the automaker’s vehicles on fire and committed other acts of vandalism that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has decried as domestic terrorism. Musk indicated he was dumbfounded by the attacks during a March 20 company meeting and said the vandals should "stop acting psycho.”
Crockett and other Tesla Takedown supporters have been stressing the importance for Saturday’s protests to remain peaceful.
But police were investigating a fire that destroyed seven Tesla vehicles in northwestern Germany early Saturday morning. It was wasn't immediately clear if the blaze, which was extinguished by firefighters, was related to the Tesla Takedown protests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.