Over the weekend, thousands of people joined the “Tesla Takedown” protest movement at the company’s showrooms across the country. At the same time, a much smaller number of Elon Musk supporters turned out at Tesla locations for a counterprotest movement that some participants dubbed “Tesla Shield.”
While the protest movement comprises people angered at Elon Musk’s role in the dismantling of federal government agencies, the counterprotest movement that showed up this weekend was peopled mostly by MAGA supporters. Among them were an array of far-right extremists, including members of the Proud Boys, armed militias, and at one event in Idaho, a guy dressed as Hitler.
As Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) rips through huge swaths of the federal government and puts people’s lives and livelihoods at risk, the Tesla protest movement has gained traction. Tesla’s stock price has dropped by more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year. Isolated incidents of vandalism against Tesla vehicles and chargers as well as dealerships have led Trump to push the Department of Justice to treat alleged violent protesters as “domestic terrorists,” and now some extremist groups have taken it upon themselves to help Musk fight back.
“My people will be free, my people will rule again,” David Pettinger, a member of the extremist anti-government People’s Rights group, shouted at protesters in a fake German accent outside a Tesla dealership in Meridian, Idaho, on Saturday, according to video footage of the incident.
A moustachioed Pettinger wore a T-shirt with the words “LITERALLY HITLER” written on the back and a picture of Musk giving a nazi-like salute on the front. Wearing jodhpurs and black boots, Pettinger marched in front of protesters and handed out heart-shaped stickers to Musk supporters.
Pettinger told WIRED that he dressed as Hitler to “make fun of the overuse of the terms nazi and fascist.” However, Pettinger’s posts on X echo Hitler’s deeply antisemitic worldview.
Also in Meridian were a number of armed individuals in camouflage gear, some wearing body armor, according to images of the counterprotest posted to Bluesky. Pettinger also appeared to be armed, according to video footage showing a handgun tucked into his jodhpurs.
Meanwhile, Josh Fulfer, who is known online as Oreo Express and was at the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, joined a counterprotest group in Fresno, California, telling a local news outlet: “We’re out here to show support for DOGE, Elon Musk, Tesla, and this administration.” Fulfer can be seen on his own videos harassing and shouting at protesters.
Ahead of the Tesla Takedown protests this weekend, the Proud Boys and other far-right groups put out calls on their social media channels for supporters to show up in numbers and counter the protests.
A virtually all of the dealerships which had protests this weekend, however, the number of anti-Musk protesters vastly outnumbered the pro-Musk protesters.
In Columbus, Ohio, news that a local Proud Boy chapter had urged supporters to show up didn’t dissuade more than 1,000 anti-Musk protesters from turning up. Meanwhile, fewer than 50 pro-Musk supporters were in attendance, according to local media. The Proud Boy group claimed they would be infiltrating the protesters to gather information, but it’s unclear if they were present at Saturday’s protest.
In Salem, Oregon, pro-Musk supporters waved Proud Boys flags in front of a Tesla dealership while many of them walked around wearing the group’s uniform of yellow and black clothing.
Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, the far-right anti-government militia group Veterans on Patrol announced on its Telegram channel that it was taking a break from monitoring and tracking immigrants to infiltrate a Tesla Takedown protest for “redirecting action against Elon and EVs towards a more reasonable target.”
Musk himself posted multiple times about the protests over the weekend, claiming without any evidence that the protesters were being paid. The hate-filled LibsofTikTok account, operated by Chaya Raichik, responded to one of Musk’s post, claiming: “Soros is paying for this,” referring to Hungarian billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, who far-right figures believe is controlling huge swaths of the global population.
As Musk continues to tear through the federal government, and Tesla’s stock price continues to plummet, the organizers of the Tesla Takedown movement have pledged to continue to protest, with the movement now reaching other parts of the world as well. But equally, members identifying with the so-called Tesla Shield movement have vowed, on posts on X and Facebook, to continue their efforts to defend Musk and his company.
