“Send Musk to Mars”, “#No Kings”, and “Democracy Not Dictators” were just a few signs sprinkled throughout the Palo Alto Tesla dealer parking lot on Saturday as protesters voiced their concerns about the actions of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.
The protest was a part of a nationwide movement called “Tesla Takedown” in which protesters aimed to reduce Tesla’s sales and raise awareness about many of Musk’s actions, including his salute at Trump’s inauguration parade, budget cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and many more.
The protest was organized by Indivisible Palo Alto Plus, a group aiming to encourage Democrats to speak up amid these significant shifts.
“Indivisible is a national organization,” said David Page, a recruiter for the organization who attended the protest and says Democrats need strength in numbers. “They have listings of all kinds of local events, wherever you live. And different protests and meetings and rallies to mostly, lately, get Democrats to do more to stop Trump.”
Protester Lauren Graham waved signs with phrases including “BAD DOGe” and “oppress racism” at oncoming cars with her three daughters and said they were attending the protest to defend democracy.
“We are here to protest what’s going on in our country,” Graham said. “We’re here for democracy. We have a system of checks and balances, and they’re not being enforced right now, and we’re here to follow the Constitution.”
Protester Kalid Meky ran onto the road, waving a sign reading “Don’t Buy Tesla” as Teslas stopped at a red light to grab drivers’ attention.
“I’m from Ethiopia but I was raised here as a little baby, and my country was taken over by a dictator and I know how they work,” Meky said. “Bullies never change.”
Meky said Musk is placing the benefits of tech companies above those of the people.
“It’s about autocracy versus democracy,” Meky said. “Autocracy is uniting with technocracy. They [Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerburg] are trying to use technocracy to replace our democracy.”
Even Tesla owners participated in the demonstration. One such owner, Dag Johansen, said Musk’s government policies and Tesla’s mission are not aligning in terms of his commitment to going green.
“I’m a Tesla owner who feels very betrayed by the actions of Elon Musk,” Johansen said. “He’s become a climate traitor by aligning with Donald Trump, so I don’t think people should be buying Tesla’s at this point. There are many other great EVs available: GM, Kia, Hyundai, VW, Ford.”
Johansen said he plans on attending more “Tesla Takedown” protests in the near future.
A large participant in the protest was the Bay Area chapter of Raging Grannies Action League, a group of older women promoting justice through song and humour.
“We know this is effective,” Granny Ruth said. “We know that people can feel empowered. We know that we know that people need this kind of outlet. People are angry.”
This protest is not the beginning nor the end. According to Granny Ruth, it’s a national movement with ongoing rallies.
“He [Elon Musk] has got to be stopped,” Granny Ruth said. “This (protest) is one of many and we want to see the groundswell of people showing that everything that is going on is wrong. So our goal is to be part of a larger movement.”