Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla showroom on Washington Street in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, protesting the company’s CEO Elon Musk and demanding that he “pull the plug” on his deeds at the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).
The protest was organized by the nonviolent political action group Rise and Resist. Similar “Tesla Takedown” demonstrations took place across the U.S. on Saturday, urging Tesla owners to sell their vehicles, dump the electric car company’s stocks and “join the picket lines.”
Demonstrators say Musk’s intervention in government policies is akin to a coup, referring to the billionaire’s efforts at DOGE in decimating government agencies. They called on the courts to limit Musk and DOGE’s access to classified and sensitive information.
When President Trump appointed Musk, a private citizen who emigrated to the U.S. from South Africa, to oversee DOGE, Trump gave him free rein to cut federal aid, freeze billions of dollars in federal funding, fire federal workers, and dismantle federal agencies like the US Agency for International Aid (USAID).
On Saturday, demonstrators chanted, “Trump and Musk are traitors” and “Nobody voted for Elon Musk,” bearing protest signs reading, “Don’t Buy a Swasticar, “Make No Mistake This Is A Coup,” “No Dictators in the USA,” and “Boycott Tesla.”
Meanwhile, members of Rise and Resist tried to access the Tesla dealership for a peaceful protest. Two members successfully entered the sales room before security locked the door, leaving the rest of the group to stage a peaceful sit-in, blocking the entrance to the salesroom.
Longtime Rise and Resist member Jaime Bauer read a statement vowing to fight back against Elon Musk and what they describe as an administrative coup by Musk, who has unfettered access to U.S. government agencies and sensitive data.
“We will use every non-violent method in the book to stop your cuts in their tracks,” Bauer said. “We will turn you into a pariah, and you will end up in the dustbin of history along with oligarchs who enabled Hitler and Mussolini.”
Naomi Braine, professor of Sociology at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, was also part of the sit-in. Braine told amNewYork Metro she was protesting on behalf of her students — many are children of immigrants — who rely on Pell Grants and the Tuition Assistance Program to get through college.
“[My students] are the hopes and dreams of their families. These are young people who are the heart of the American dream, and they are in the middle of the American nightmare,” Braine said.
Eventually, the NYPD moved in, arresting all seven sit-in protesters; they were taken to the 7th Precinct stationhouse and released with a desk appearance ticket.
Leslie Kilpatrick heard about the protest through Instagram and told amNewYork Metro that rallies protesting the Trump and Musk agenda were important.
“We got to do what we have any control of right now, just to protest,” Kilpatrick said.
Rise and Resister Jay W. Walker told amNewYork Metro that while the organization had expected a good turnout, the crowd was bigger than expected.
“I didn’t think that we would have enough people to fill the entirety of this block of Washington Street, which we did, which is amazing,” Walker said. “The American people are pissed. They’re angry at everything Donald Trump has allowed Elon Musk to do. So it’s great that people are turning out.”
