“Tesla Revoke” organizers promise today’s biggest global action day, encouraging thousands of people to protest outside Tesla’s showrooms, dealerships, and even charging stations Peaceful opposition Playing Elon Musk in Cut government spending.
As Tesla protests Spread, so is the rebound. The militants holding up signs are mixing with masked vandals throwing Molotov cocktails. On social media, in Washington, this distinction is rapidly disappearing.
President Donald Trump called the attack on Tesla “family terrorism” and threatened to send “terrorist thugs” to prisons in El Salvador. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi There is evidence The attack was carried out by a “lonely criminal.” Musk decides at least one peaceful protestercrime”On x Promoted public discourse This equates protest with sabotage and sabotageism with terrorism.
If the government or law enforcement begins to treat all anti-Tesla operations as crimes, peaceful protesters may find themselves facing consequences for extremists.
“Terrorism is a problematic concept in law enforcement because its definition is distinguished from other violence by its political nature,” Mike German, a former FBI agent and researcher at the Brennan Center’s Freedom and National Security Program, told TechCrunch. “That’s why we see counter-terrorism measures often lead to problematic results to target the civil rights of people engaged in First Amendment protection activities, rather than those engaged in violence.”
Tesla protesters have been rallying with their website. The movement’s stated goal is not to do physical harm to Tesla or Musks, but to encourage people to sell Tesla, sell stocks and stop buying new Teslas.
“reason [Musk] is in the position that he is in is because of his wealth, and we feel that if we can continue to drive that Tesla stock price down, we will hit him in the spot that it matters,” Natasha Purdum, a New Jersey-based organizer, told TechCrunch. “Ultimately, we see that as a key to taking down some of the major destruction that is happening in our federal government, courtesy of DOGE and Elon Musk.”
Musk is the richest man in the world, largely due to his Tesla stock. He owns about 13% of the company, which is worth about $829 billion, putting Musk’s share worth about $1007.8 billion. That wealth has cost Musk $44 billion to buy Twitter, the main platform he uses to communicate with his 219 million followers. Musk also immersed his money in Donated more than $260 million to US PAC This helped Trump win the election.
Germans say that as a FBI agent focused on family terrorism for 16 years, the Germans say he would not be surprised to see local police working with terrorism workers. The FBI just formed – Monitor Tesla protests. according to Attorney General’s Guidethe FBI does not need the factual basis for alleged terrorism to begin physical surveillance, which includes photographing people, photos of cars and license plates, deploying informants to infiltrate a group, access to private databases, and more.
“It is also important to understand that American law enforcement is primarily designed to protect the property of the rich,” the German said. “Companies in the United States are politically powerful and can engage with elected officials and senior law enforcement officers. When their interests are challenged, especially through protests, they want to use them as a matter of law enforcement rather than a legitimate public concern about their company activities.”
The FBI declined to comment on TechCrunch’s question about whether the agency has taken any special action this weekend.
“We want to follow them”
Musk and the Trump administration stepped up their comments during their leadership on March 29, when at least 213 Tesla canceled protests were held around the world, from Colorado and Kentucky to Germany, Minnesota, France and Texas.
Musk appeared on Fox News’ “Special Report” on Thursday, saying he and Trump would “follow … the people who provide money, those who promote lies and propaganda.”
Trump suggested that despite internal assessments, the attacks on Tesla’s property were coordinated to intimidate Musk. Musk also claims there is no evidence that some Tesla organizers are Funded by Actbluea nonprofit organization that provides funding for reasons for progress and democratic candidates.
Bondi accused Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) of “calling for further uprising” as Crockett said Musk needed to “knock down” at the virtual Tesla defeat rally last week. CrockettVery careful stomping. ”
The Germans say this kind of rhetoric is also an ancient government technique that attempts to discredit and suppress the protest movement by claiming that “a minority of violence is the result of the spread of bad ideas, radical ideas.” ”
Purdum, one of Tesla organizers, advised protesters to put their health first. If you feel unsafe, follow local protest regulations, don’t trespass, follow police orders, and have a lawyer’s phone number in the back pocket just in case.
“Authoritarian regimes will have peaceful protests equal to violence,” said Stephanie Frizzell, organizer of Tesla in Dallas. “Tesla’s withdrawal movement has been and will always be non-violent. Their goal is to intimidate us silent as we oppose Musk’s destructive actions – but defending freedom of speech is the basis for democracy. We will not be stopped.”
