Marin Tesla dealership becomes regular protest hub
Greenbrae resident Susan DeVinny decided writing letters, attending meetings and donating money to stop Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency were not enough.
“I cannot believe what’s happening, I’m just furious,” DeVinny said. “I wake up every morning nauseous. I’m furious.”
Musk, the billionaire cofounder and chief executive officer of Tesla, has been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency under the direction of President Donald Trump. The department’s recent actions include firing thousands of federal workers; canceling diversity, equity and inclusion grants and programs; and cutting funding for climate initiatives.
DeVinny decided that to protest effectively, she had to take to the streets. She learned a Bay Area chapter of Solidarity Sundays, an activist group, was organizing a protest at the Tesla dealership at 201 Casa Buena Drive in Corte Madera.
“I walked over, but I did not have a sign,” DeVinny said. “I will have a nice sign next time.”
Around 200 people showed up to that first protest on Feb. 23, according to Lara Starr, a cofounder of the Solidarity Sundays group. The group has been in front of the Tesla dealership every weekend since, and it has organized with other local activist groups to have protests on both Saturday and Sunday.
Starr said the effort is peaceful and respectful, aiming to raise awareness and create community. The group stays on the public street and does not bother workers or customers.
Starr started the chapter with her friend Maya Butterfield after the 2016 election. They wrote postcards once a month, and while that effort continues, she said showing up at a Tesla dealership is strategic and hits Musk “where it hurts.”
“After this election we kind of looked at each other and said postcards weren’t enough, we need to do more,” Starr said. “Musk isn’t afraid of a postcard. It just felt too small.”
People around the region are protesting at Tesla showrooms. In December, the company’s stock price had a 50% dip from its peak, and sales declined last year compared to 2023.
“There is tremendous energy from Marin residents right now to raise their voices and speak out against the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover and the Republican assault on our freedoms and our communities,” said Susan Morgan, the founder of Indivisible Marin, another activist group. “With every passing day, it becomes increasingly clear that Trump, Musk and the Republican members of Congress who are enabling their radical actions are harming the lives and safety of everyday Americans to serve the interests of the most wealthy Americans.”
Starr said Musk has given protesters something: a place to assemble that serves as a symbol of the issues the protesters are “disgusted” with. She said that while not everyone can get to Washington, D.C., there are plenty of Tesla stores and charging stations.
“You can’t disentangle Tesla from Musk and you can’t disentangle Musk from Trump,” Starr said. “The overwhelming thing I hear from people is, thank you, thank you for giving us somewhere to go, something to do.”
DeVinny said she has always been politically active. She said she doesn’t know anyone who isn’t upset by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
“I haven’t been out on the street protesting,” DeVinny said. “I thought, well, young people can do that, but now I think we all need to get out there. We can continue to be fortunate enough to donate, but we need to put our feet to the ground.”
DeVinny said she plans to keep protesting at the dealership, but now with a sign of her father, a “very conservative” World War II veteran. The sign reads: “My Republican dad would be so ashamed.”
“He believed in honor and morals,” DeVinny said. “When I go next time, I’ll be representing him.”
For Starr, protesting Tesla and the department is a way to document history and mark major events in a demonstrative way. She said decent people “don’t do nothing when these kinds of things are happening.”
She said when the history books write about the second Trump presidential term, these protests will be noted.
“And that’s not nothing,” Starr said.
Earlier this month, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields commented on the demonstrations.
“Protests will not deter President Trump and Elon Musk from delivering on the promise to establish DOGE and make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country,” Fields said.
Bay Area News Group and the Associated Press contributed to this report.