US-wide protests over the tycoon’s connections to Trump draw attention to possible threats to the company’s revenues and reputation
Protesters gathered outside Tesla stores throughout the US on Saturday in opposition to Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government expenditure under the president, Donald Trump.
Demonstrators in groups of up to 100 people gathered outside the electric carmaker’s showrooms in California, New York, Seattle, and Kansas City. According to organisers, the demonstrations happened in dozens of places.
Despite their dispersed nature, the protests brought attention to the dangers Musk’s intimate ties to Trump’s extreme right-wing ideology pose to the automaker. Numerous demonstrators held signs comparing the Trump administration to Nazis, a comparison Musk has previously categorically refuted.
Based on an internet dog joke, Musk is in charge of the US president’s “department of government efficiency,” or Doge. Some constitutional scholars have denounced Doge’s actions as unlawful, citing his swift destruction of government agencies and widespread termination of federal employees across the United States.
Some Tesla investors have questioned whether Musk’s ties to the Trump administration, which include spending over $200 million on the presidential campaign, could hurt the company’s sales, especially in liberal US regions. Although the Trump administration and the Republican party are adamantly opposed to the technology, states like California have historically had the largest markets for electric vehicles in the US.
