March Tesla Protests Have Been … Educational (& March Ain’t Over)

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Last Updated on: 26th March 2025, 08:02 am

Vladimir Lenin supposedly said, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” Whether he really said that or someone else did, one thing is true: whoever said that is right. I mean, if you told the average EV fan 5 years ago that there would be protests against Tesla and owners hiding their cars under fake badges, nobody would believed you.

And yet, here we are. We live in one of the stranger timelines, where Elon Musk’s daughter came out of the closet, caused the man some intense feelings of loss, and then disowned him when he rejected her. Instead of going to therapy or turning to the bottle like most depressed people do, he instead decided to drown his sorrows in the most expensive hobby of all: politics. As he works to establish an authoritarian anti-woke utopia, millions of people who were once fans can see that this isn’t what they signed up for, and now oppose him.

The “Tesla Takedown” Movement Continues

Because he’s such a big part of the Trumpist rebellion against the Constitution and civil rights, a whole protest movement has launched to clip his wings via the “Tesla Takedown.” The hope is that he’ll lose enough wealth to have to either give up and focus on Mars or lose enough power to be sidelined regardless of his will to fight.

After what now feels like years of protests (only weeks have gone by), a coherent organization is developing to plan next steps.

A number of prominent activists, journalists, and celebrities explained not only why they’re participating in the effort to take Elon down several notches, but also where they think the movement should go next. The next big protest on March 29th aims to set a new record of protests on a single day.

The First Actual Violence Didn’t Come From Protesters or Vandals

While highly-placed idiots and post turtles like Pam Bondi and Donald Trump are saying that Tesla Takedown protests and nighttime vandalism against Tesla property is “terrorism” that deserves a one-way trip to a gulag in El Salvador, the first actual violence against people came from a man who claimed to be an employee of a Tesla store.

While his story has not been verified (he also claimed that his brakes and vehicle electronics went out), it would make sense that someone fearing job loss might go to such extremes. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out of the way in time, and nobody was hurt. The driver was arrested after police interviewed several people and watched recordings of the incident.

Some Vandals Have Been Caught (& What We Can Learn From This)

On the other side, some vandals who have damaged Tesla property have been caught. Police and even the federal government are treating these acts as “domestic terrorism” (while not doing the same for a guy who tried to run people over?) and dedicating significant resources to finding those responsible.

As I’ve said before, this kind of vandalism is counter-productive. Peaceful protests are working, with stock prices in the toilet compared to inauguration day, despite occasional upticks. This has led to embarrassing displays of desperation, like Donald Trump’s Tesla infomercial at the White House. Going to violence this early in the game, before the regime has engaged in any truly despicable acts of violence, gives them an opportunity to convince people that they’re the victim.

That having been said, there are some things we can learn from the people who got caught. In short, you’d better do a lot more thinking than they did if these kinds of acts become justifiable and wise in the future. License plate reader networks make it hard to go anywhere, especially at night, without police being able to know where you were. Add in the huge number of surveillance cameras everywhere, and it’s tough to not be traced back home. Molotov cocktails also seem to be a poor choice of weapon, as it’s possible to leave fingerprints on the glass that aren’t obliterated by the flames.

I’m not saying that revolutions against authoritarian regimes are impossible these days, but they aren’t as easy to pull off as they once were. Keep that in mind before you give up on peaceful efforts!

At the same time, most of the arson and vandalism goes unsolved because the FBI says “lone offenders” are doing it. Without organized networks to go after as Trump claims exist, it’s harder to use traditional anti-insurgency tactics and law enforcement investigation tools.

Where Will The Tesla Takedown Movement Go Next?

The obvious next big news will happen on the 29th, when a “GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION” will be attempted. The goal is to have protests on the same day in front of at least 500 Tesla retail locations or Supercharger stations. According to the website, the activists are well on their way toward planning that many events.

To emphasize peacefulness, Tesla Takedown organized a free training on de-escalating conflicts that can arise with counter-protesters and agitators. Having run self-defense classes myself, it’s hard to overstate the value of things like adrenaline management, non-lethal self-defense, and dispute resolution techniques like Verbal Judo.

Another thing that protest organizers are doing that could help with keeping peaceful is moving to more of a “dance party” format for the protests. Instead of angry chanting and clashes with people on the street, protesters are starting to take to dancing and even bringing along stereo systems.

PORTLAND: watch the whole thing, and get ready to bring this kind of energy to this Saturday’s Tesla protest!The White House is calling us terrorists, so it’s time to break out the bubbles and costumes and turn the protest into a dance party! Blast the group chat, put it on the calendar, let’s go!

— Everything’s Computermeyer (@niedermeyer.online) 2025-03-25T15:59:13.776Z

In addition to bringing a more festive atmosphere, some people are showing in silly costumes, which raise the mood and get more attention from passers by.

The big question now is whether the protests and other illegal activity will keep working to bring Tesla’s stock price and Elon Musk’s net worth down. There has been a small rebound over the last couple of days, but it’s nowhere even remotely close to recovering the high prices from late last year.

If the regime keeps making people angry, the movement might not run out of recruits who will sell the stock, sell their vehicles, and join in the protests. But, if at some point Trump decides to slow down and stop freaking people out, the stock could rebound.