The Tesla Takedown movement believes it is the Rebel Alliance to Tesla owner Elon Musk’s Emperor Palpatine. Except, instead of actually fighting against the forces of evil, they seek to bully Musk by going after his business interest.
But who is this ragtag group of activists?
The Tesla Takedown movement casts its mission as a noble fight against the Musk’s supposed threat to American democracy. Yet, as is typically the case, there is more to this supposed crusade than meets the eye.
The movement contends that Musk is orchestrating an “illegal coup” within the federal government, according to its website. Why? Because he is the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, which seeks to streamline government operations while cutting waste and government spending.
The group argues that Musk’s role in the Trump administration is illegitimate because he was not elected nor did he go through the Senate confirmation process. But we all know that’s a load of hogwash, don’t we? Progressives love unelected bureaucrats making major decisions more than Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) loves the clicks she gets for making asinine comments.
The movement's problem is that Musk is taking actions they do not like. The group complains that he has been “gutting US agencies” and slashing their beloved federal programs. “Elon Musk is destroying our democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it,” the group claims. We are taking action at Tesla to stop Musk’s illegal coup.”
To achieve this end, the group has organized several protests at Tesla centers across the nation. On Saturday, the Tesla Takedown movement organized global protests to express their displeasure with Musk, who they view as a fascist oligarch.
At these protests, activists carry signs that read, “Fire Elon Musk” and chant various slogans. In at least one instance, they resorted to line dancing.
Anti-Musk protester won't answer simple questions at the Tesla Takedown protest👇 pic.twitter.com/gSyvdxI0a2
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 29, 2025
🚨🇺🇸 INVESTIGATION REVEALS MASSIVE DEMOCRAT-LINKED PROTEST MACHINE BEHIND TESLA TAKEDOWN
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 30, 2025
After nationwide protests targeting Elon and Tesla, former WSJ reporter Asra Nomani uncovered a network of 24 Democrat-aligned organizations behind the scenes, with revenues over $124… https://t.co/EwF8lCudME pic.twitter.com/YePLe6fJ9k
Tesla Takedown protesters using line dancing as a new tactic to scare away customers. Not an ounce of rhythm to be found among them. 😂🤡 pic.twitter.com/1rg406QR2M
— ☘️𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕪 Ƒʉͫcͧкͭιͪηͣ 𝕄𝕔𝔾𝕖𝕖 (@LuckyMcGee) March 30, 2025
The movement has also launched a campaign to boycott Tesla and persuade Tesla owners to sell their vehicles.
The Tesla Takedown movement is not an organization. Rather, it is a coalition of far leftist groups coming together to wage a rhetorical jihad against Musk and Tesla.
Several of these groups receive funding from small donors. But you will be less than shocked to find out that billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation is also funneling millions of dollars to these organizations.
The Indivisible Project received at least $7.6 million from the Open Society Foundation between 2017 and 2023. The other groups involved in the movement include the Democratic Socialists of America, Rise & Resist, the Disruption Project, and Troublemakers.
The Democratic Party has not officially endorsed Tesla Takedown, but some lawmakers, including Crockett, have openly supported the group.
The movement is decentralized, but several individuals have been identified as key figures. These include actor and filmmaker Alex Winter, journalism professor Joan Donovan, and Troublemakers co-founder Valerie Costa.
The movement also seeks to convince large institutions, such as state pension funds, to “divest” from Tesla and purge the company from their portfolios. The goal is to make the Tesla brand toxic so that it loses as much business as possible.
The movement’s rise comes amid a spate of vandalism and firebombing attacks against Tesla facilities and vehicles. Several leftists have been arrested for hurling Molotov cocktails at Tesla-owned buildings and painting swastikas on Tesla cars.
Elon Musk has repeatedly lashed out at the movement for their bully campaign. He blamed them for inciting the attacks against his company. “At least some of it is organized and paid for by domestic left-wing organizations in America,” he said on Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) podcast.
NEW: @ElonMusk weighs in on who the thinks is behind the Tesla protests.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) March 17, 2025
"At least some of it is organized and paid for by domestic left wing organizations in America..."
"Act Blue is one of them... It's funded by basically the left wing NGO cabal."pic.twitter.com/IK12NfXy12
This movement is not going away anytime soon – especially as long as Musk remains a part of DOGE and an ally of President Donald Trump. That’s the crux of the matter here. As I stated previously, progressives are fine with unelected bureaucrats who do not go through the Senate confirmation process. The problem is that Musk is not supporting their effort to make the government even more bloated and intrusive in the lives of Americans.
That’s what this is all about. These people want more government, plain and simple. Anyone going against that is a target. Musk happens to make a viable scapegoat because of his wealth, which is why they are attacking his business. But realistically, this whole project is doomed to fail because it does not appear Musk plans on letting up anytime soon.