Anti-Elon Musk demonstrations have erupted across America with protesters attacking Tesla showrooms with guns and Molotov cocktails.
Protesters gathered outside Tesla stores nationwide over the weekend to demonstrate against Elon Musk’s proposed government spending cuts and reforms. The protests were not only limited to the United States but also spread to cities like London, Portugal, Malaysia, and Iceland.
In New York City, around 250 demonstrators stood outside a showroom, brandishing signs with slogans such as ‘Block Fascism Now’ and ‘Musk Must Go’. They voiced their discontent by chanting, ‘Elon Musk is not elected! Democracy must be protected!’
The demonstration in Manhattan took a tumultuous turn as law enforcement arrested five individuals for disorderly conduct, with one person facing charges of resisting arrest, obstruction, and violating local laws, according to The New York Daily News.
There have also been more than a dozen acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to police and local reports.
A Tesla showroom in Salem, Oregon was shot up with an AR 15-style rifle in February. Suspected vandal Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, is also accused of causing major damage at the same store with Molotov cocktails in January.
Similarly, four Tesla cybertrucks were set ablaze overnight at a storage lot in Seattle’s industrial SoDo neighborhood, KING-TV reported.
Officials say at least two vehicles were severely damaged in the fire. Seattle police are investigating if the blaze was an act of arson.
Four Tesla cybertrucks were set ablaze overnight at a storage lot in Seattle’s industrial SoDo neighborhood. Seattle police are investigating if the blaze was an act of arson
Seven Tesla charging stations were intentionally set on fire in Littleton, Massachusetts on Monday, March 3. No injuries were reported
A Tesla showroom in Salem, Oregon was shot up with an AR 15-style rifle in February
Firefighters were called to parking lot around at the intersection of 4th Ave S & S Spokane Street on Sunday around 11pm local time.
Upon arrival, crews found four Tesla vehicles – which we parked along a fence – completely engulfed in flames.
Firefighters quickly moved the vehicles away from the fence in a bid to stop the blaze from spreading elsewhere.
They also took precautions to limit fire hazards caused by the cybertrucks’ damaged lithium batteries.
Police say it is currently too early in the investigation to determine if the blaze was intentionally set.
The potential act of arson comes just days after suspected vandal Lansky was arrested in neighboring Oregon for attempting to destroy a Tesla dealership.
He allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at the showroom on January 20, striking the dealership building and several vehicles and causing fires, Department of Justice court filings state.
Lansky then returned to the site on February 19 to fired multiple rounds into the building and at least one vehicle, federal prosecutors allege.
He was arrested last Tuesday and been charged with illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, was arrested last Tuesday, March 4, after he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla showroom in Salem, Oregon on January 20, 2025
The Molotov cocktails (pictured) struck the dealership building and several vehicles and causing fires, Department of Justice court filings state
Police in Oregon are also working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership in Tigard, outside Portland, last week.
Investigators believe at least seven shots were fired at around 1.46am Thursday, damaging three cars and shattering windows. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor. No one was injured in the shooting.
While the motivation for the attack has not been confirmed, Tigard police said they ‘are aware that other Tesla dealerships have been targeted across Oregon and the nation for political reasons’.
The shooting comes a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado – including Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words ‘Nazi cars’ spray-painted on the building.
Also last week, seven Tesla charging stations that were ‘intentionally set’ on fire in Massachusetts, according to the Littleton Police Department. No injuries were reported.
Graffiti reading ‘No Musk’ and depicting a sign that resembled a swastika was also found at a Tesla dealership, one day after protesters gathered at the facility.
This photo released by the Tigard Police Department, shows shattered windows of a Tesla dealership on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Tigard, Oregon
Investigators believe at least seven shots were fired at the Tigard dealership, damaging three cars and shattering windows. One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor. No one was injured in the shooting
Protests against Musk and Tesla have ramped up since the billionaire and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began firing thousands of federal workers, including veterans, as it pushes to downsize the government.
Musk’s political postures appear to be coming at a price for Tesla, whose sales in Europe tumbled 45 per cent in January from a year earlier – while its rivals’ sales rose by over 37 per cent.
Tesla’s market capitalization has dropped 45 per cent since hitting an all-time high of $1.5trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after Musk helped finance Trump’s election victory.
Meanwhile, DOGE has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks for its chaotic handling of layoffs, particularly its firing of key federal employees only to attempt to rehire them later.
Among those affected were workers responsible for maintaining nuclear weapons sites across the US – a move that has raised serious national security concerns and Musk and his allies are now face mounting pressure to reassess their approach.
Musk last week revealed he’s now looking at cutting the US Postal Service and the railway service Amtrak. He named his targets when he spoke to a Morgan Stanley conference on Wednesday, CNN reported. He addressed the participants virtually.
Roughly 250 demonstrators were gathered outside a showroom in New York City on Saturday afternoon, holding anti-Musk placards as they shouted ‘Elon Musk is not elected! Democracy must be protected!’
Protesters gather by Gold Coast Tesla dealership in downtown Chicago on Saturday to condemn Elon Musk’s alleged attempts to dismantle democracy
Protestors outside a Tesla showroom in Manhattan holds signs that read ‘Block Facism Now and ‘Musk Must Go’
In his remarks, the tech billionaire compared his influence over the federal government to that of a ‘corporate takeover.’
‘To understand the federal government, it is like a corporate takeover at scale, but one where the company is actually in much worse shape than any commercial company could ever be,’ Musk said.
Musk went on to say that ‘logically we should prioritize anything that can reasonably be privatized,’ which is when he named the USPS and Amtrak – which he called Amtrak a ‘sad situation.’
