Puget Sound Takes Down Tesla to Resist Oligarchy

The Tesla Takedown protests began in February 2025, ignited by the inauguration of Donald Trump, who was flanked by tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerburg, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai during the ceremony. But the Musk/Trump alliance became unmistakably apparent at the inauguration victory party where the Tesla CEO sieg-heiled on stage. Twice.

Soon after the inauguration, Musk wasted no time ingratiating himself and planting his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, pronounced “dodgy” by some), a taskforce created by Donald Trump after Elon Musk floated the idea in an interview with the president-elect. The DOGE team appears to be hand-picked by Musk himself and primarily includes young men who align with his socio-political agenda at the heart of his empire. His stated goal was to cut superfluous government spending. 

The reality, however, is much more grim. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been laid off from the Energy Department, the Education Department, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, Medicare/Medicaid, USAID, and more. The list continues to grow as this article is being written. DOGE employees have had unregulated access to federal resources, including the Treasury as well as citizen metadata. 

One can’t help but ask, Who did the citizens elect? Trump or Musk? And how much power do they have?

Three women hold up protest signs in front of a Tesla dealership during a #TeslaTakedown event.

Courtesy of Troublemakers

These are the kinds of questions I heard on Saturday, March 15, as I drove across the greater Seattle area, attempting to attend as many demonstrations as possible. At six showrooms in Seattle, Renton, and Bellevue, Tesla Takedown in the PNW has been busy, with protests taking place nearly daily.

I was able to make it to three: University Village, Westlake, and Bellevue Square Mall. University Village had the largest crowd, with several hundred people waving signs and chanting outside of the showroom and by the road, encouraging drivers to honk in support (at which they got many honks). And the other two protests were also nothing to sneeze at. Westlake boasted a sizable crowd of nearly a hundred people, many peeling off from the main group to demonstrate on nearby Mercer Street, a much busier road than the one where the actual Tesla dealership is located. 

I spoke to some of the attendees. I met parks service employees, former educators and faculty members, people who worked in global health, students, and families. I asked them all the same question: “Why are you out here today?” Some of their responses included: 

• “Because I can’t sleep at night.”

• “I’m out here for the same reason as everyone else. We don’t want these [prejudiced people] in charge.”

• “I have two grandkids, and this is not the world I promised them.”

• “When the people in charge start saying things have never been like this, you know it’s bad.”

• “I don’t want to see our public services dismantled.”

• And a lot of: “I didn’t vote for Elon Musk.”

There was no sign of any kind of counter protest occurring. The closest was a single voice at Westlake shouting, “Let’s go, Elon,” before they disappeared down the street. What I did witness was a lot of support from non-participants: people cheering and honking from their vehicles, including tram drivers and big rigs. A lot of people were stopping on the street to express their support before returning to their day.

There also wasn’t much of a security presence at any of the protests. I only saw mall security at Bellevue and University Village. An SPD officer made a brief appearance at Westlake. They spoke to one of the organizers before disappearing down the block. The largest security detail was at Bellevue Square Mall. I spoke to three of the team members briefly, who said that they were there to make sure things didn’t escalate, but there had been nothing of note during the protests to cause alarm. One noted: “I’m glad people are out here. There are countries where you can’t do that.”

The Bellevue Square Mall showroom was also the only Tesla dealership that was open. When I asked one of the employees if they’d had any interactions with the Tesla Takedown demonstrators that day, I was told that employees were not allowed to talk to the press. 

In response to this unregulated power-grab, nonviolent demonstrators began protesting at Tesla showrooms across the country. Activist Valeria Costa, co-founder of Seattle’s Troublemakers, said that the intention of Tesla Takedown is “to make a strong public stand against the tech oligarchy behind the Trump administration’s cruel and illegal actions, and to encourage Americans to sell their Teslas and dump the company’s stock.” 

Yet, it’s important to note that although Costa, along with the Troublemakers, have been active in the Tesla Takedown movement and instrumental to its success here in the Pacific Northwest, there is no central governing body. This is a decentralized grassroots group of activists whose organizers range from groups like Troublemakers to individuals who simply started showing up at their local Tesla dealership.

Since the protests began in February, they have snowballed into a global phenomenon, with demonstrations taking place in Canada, Australia, the UK, and Europe. They quickly grabbed the attention of online activists like Alex Winter, the actor and filmmaker probably most well-known for his titular role in the Bill and Ted film franchise, who promoted the movement on Bluesky. In addition to the demonstrations at Tesla dealerships, organizers also encourage consumers to trade in or sell their Teslas and stock. Polestar has even joined in, offering an incentive for Tesla trade-ins.

Protestors in front of a Tesla dealership replete with anti-Tesla, DOGE, and Elon Musk signage.

Courtesy of Troublemakers

So, has it worked? Short answer, yes. Long answer, heck yes. Tesla’s stock price has gone down $145.14 (or approximately 38%) since the beginning of 2025. Trade-in numbers are also up. Tesla models 2017 or later accounted for 1.4% of all trade-ins in March. This is up from 0.4% last year. If this trend keeps up, March 2025 will mark the highest monthly share on record. Tesla sales are also down. Overall down 10%, with Cybertrucks in particular seeing an enormous decline (more than 32%). 

Prominent activists, politicians, and Tesla Takedown organizers from across the country hosted a livestream on March 19, with special guest speakers including Congresswoman Crockett, Alex Winter, and actor John Cusack. The mass call’s intention was specific: they wanted to amplify their message with their biggest demonstration yet. On March 29, Tesla Takedown wants to have protests at every Tesla showroom in the United States. Their post on Bluesky reads: “GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION March 29. Every showroom in America, 500+ around the world. Let’s send these techno-fascists, broligarchs, and old fashioned Nazis a message loud and clear: NO WAY!” 

During the call, Rep. Crockett stated that it was her birthday, and all she wanted was to take Musk down. Who could deny someone such a glorious gift on the right side of history?