Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump.
Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism.
Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is dramatically slashing the US federal government.
Amy Neifeld, a 70-year-old psychologist who had not joined a protest since marching against the Vietnam War in the 1970s, said Musk was leading the country toward fascism.
“I’m Jewish, so I grew up with a great awareness of fascism,” she said. “And it has just gotten uglier and uglier” since Trump returned to the White House.
The protest was organized by the environmental activist group Planet Over Profit, which said “stopping Musk will help save lives and protect our democracy.”
In Washington’s posh Georgetown neighborhood, about 150 people gathered in a festive mood on an unseasonably warm day, dancing and cheering as passing cars honked.
Protests also took place in Florida, Massachusetts and California, as well as in European cities such as London, Berlin and Paris.
In Vancouver, where about 100 people protested at a Tesla dealership, one person in a dinosaur costume held a placard that said: “You thought the Nazis were extinct? Don’t buy a Swasticar.”
A small group of Americans held signs outside a Tesla dealership in the French capital, including one that read “Send Musk to Mars now.”
Musk and Trump “are destroying our democracy, not obeying the basic rules of our country and firing people at agencies that do very important work,” said Raf, 59, a Paris protester who did not wish to give his last name.
European sales of Tesla electric cars dropped 49 percent in January to February compared with the same period a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday last week.
Aging models are one factor behind the plunge so far this year, but electric vehicle clients might also be refusing to buy in protest against Musk since he became a key supporter of Trump.
New Tesla registrations in the EU fell to 19,046 in the first two months of the year, giving the company a market share of just 1.1 percent.
Last month alone, Tesla registrations were down 47 percent at 11,743, the ACEA said.
The sales drop came even as overall electric vehicle sales jumped 28.4 percent over the first two months to 255,489 — for an EU market share of 15.2 percent.
Asked for reaction to the protests, Tesla did not immediately respond.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The