Fight fascism and Elon Musk by taking down Tesla
On paper, Elon Musk is the richest person in the world, but his money isn't just sitting in a bank account he can access. The bulk of it resides in his stake in Tesla, a wildly overvalued publicly traded company which he owns 13% of.
If you're looking for a way to fight the fascist government takeover, Telsa Takedown is a great way to spend your time. It's a new grassroots movement, largely organized on Bluesky, that has been bringing out protesters to dozens of Tesla showrooms across the US (and around the world) every Saturday morning.
Here's why making Tesla's brand toxic is important, and some ways you can help.
A collapse of Elon Musk's wealth
Despite the hype, Tesla is a weak company and Elon Musk is bad at business.
On a recent episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Ed Niedermeyer explained that Tesla has "let their core business wither on the vine." The company's only recent innovation has been the Cybertruck, and it's proven to be a complete and utter failure in the market.
A popular movement against Tesla can bring its valuation down to reality, knocking billions of dollars off Musk's net worth and potentially even causing his wealth – which honestly is a house of cards built on top of fraud and over-hyped Tesla stock – to collapse.
For example, when Musk bought Twitter, he sold a bit of Telsa stock to pay for it. But he couldn't sell much – that would drive the price down, and he'd have to pay tax on it – so instead he took out a $12.5 billion loan from Morgan Stanley using his Tesla stock as collateral.
If Tesla stock rapidly loses value, he's still on the hook for that cash (plus interest). If he sells more Tesla stock to pay his debt, that will push the price down even more, which will wipe out even more of his net worth. As Niedermeyer put it:
That's what makes him vulnerable. There is a real scenario where in theory, we could wipe out his wealth in a matter of days or weeks, if the right dynamic takes hold.
If you own a Tesla, sell it
Today, Teslas are a symbol of oligarchy and Trump's fascist project. This probably wasn't the case when you bought your Tesla, but this image isn't changing. The sooner you sell your Tesla, the more likely you'll find people still willing to buy it.
Unlike a few years ago, today there are actually plenty of affordable EV options that are not symbols of fascism. If you haven't looked, go take a look. Tesla is far from the only option.
If you can't sell your Tesla for whatever reason, then at least make sure to put anti-Elon Musk stickers all over it. Make it clear that you don't support what's going on. Teslas are toxic, not cool.
Divest from Tesla
If you own Tesla stock, dump it. This will lower the price of Tesla stock.
This is honestly something I need to look into myself. I don't own Tesla stock directly (or any individual stock), but I do have a retirement fund. I need to look into making sure I'm not invested in any funds that include TSLA. Hopefully there will be more resources to make this easier. I'd love to see an index fund that includes the S&P 500 minus Tesla.
Protest at Tesla showrooms
Go to your local Tesla Takedown weekly protests!
You can find protests here. They're all over. If you can't find one, if there's a Tesla dealership near you, maybe start one.
Flyer parked Teslas
A lot of Tesla owners likely have no idea what's going on with Elon Musk and the Trump administration. Even when they do, many Tesla owners probably haven't really connected the Tesla that they drive every day to *waves arms wildly* all of this. My guess is, most Tesla owners want no part of this. So let's let educate them.
I remixed a PDF from the Tesla Takedown website to create a smaller version that can be printed double-sided, and then cut in half to make two flyers per piece of paper.
Here's my remixed PDF, if you want to download it:
Print these out double sided, cut them in half, and carry them around with you. Whenever you see a parked Tesla, slip one under the windshield wipers.
What not to do
On social media, I've seen photos of Cybertrucks that are vandalized with swastikas. Please, don't draw swastikas, even if you're just trying to make a point. If you're going to vandalize a Cybertruck, write "fuck Nazis," or draw a penis or something. Don't put more swastikas into the world.
And likewise, don't dress up like Elon Musk and do a Nazi salute. Sure, make signs with photos of Elon (an actual Nazi) doing a Nazi salute himself. But don't cosplay as a Nazi.