「ドージなし」：ニューヨークのテスラ抗議者がマスクにメッセージを送る

At midday on Saturday, March 29, the Tesla Meatpacking showroom in New York closed its doors as protesters surrounded the building. It was the global day of action for the growing protest movement Tesla Takedown, and people of all ages were carrying signs with edits of Elon Musk kissing Trump’s feet and guillotine illustrations that read: “Sure, let’s do some cutting.” Soon, the crowd started yelling in synchronicity, “No more DOGE.” The sun was out; it was one of the hottest days of the year (so far) and hundreds of New Yorkers were aligned on a singular message: Elon Musk has got to go.

The Tesla Takedown website reads as a wake-up call: “No one is coming to save us.” The protests started in early February at just a handful of Tesla locations across the US. The idea is simple but (so far) effective: tank Tesla’s stock price by selling Teslas, dumping your stock and joining the picket lines to stop Musk on his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) crusade. Since February, the momentum has grown into people meeting every Saturday at hundreds of locations across the world. On Saturday, there were peaceful protests outside showrooms in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, there was a protest in nearly every state, across 200 locations throughout the northeast, south, midwest and west coast. 

Ahead, we asked New York’s Tesla protesters one question: What’s your message to Elon Musk? 

Dejah: “I want to say fuck you. The power of the people, united, will never be defeated. We will resist you at every step over the next four years. Get ready to step aside because the people are coming, organising and building power.”

Carol: “The people did not vote for him. He has no business being in government messing with people’s Social Security, Medicare and any of our benefits because we pay for that with our taxes and he doesn’t.”

Raga: “I’m here with Planet Over Profit, and I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people when I say we did not elect Elon Musk, and our rights cannot be bought. Our government can’t be bought. We don’t back the decisions he has made with his money. We don’t stand for that, and that’s why we’re here protesting today.”

Liv: “My message to Elon is that he’s not an elected official. He is a billionaire and has no place in our government. He has no place making decisions on behalf of the people because the people did not choose him.”

Michael: “Elon Musk needs to get the hell out of our government and stay away from our rights. He’s unelected, and we don’t trust him.”

Keith: “The subtle message is stay out of our government. You have no reason to be involved. You have no authority to do anything, and yet you’re making a giant mess of things. Stop doing it, or we will stop you.”

Gabi: “He needs to actually care about human beings instead of just being all about efficiency. He wants to make budget cuts, putting innocent people out of their jobs. Meanwhile, SpaceX is getting so much government funding. If we’re talking about efficiencies, he should start by self-reflecting on his own companies.”

Avery: “Just because you can buy your way into the government doesn’t mean you should.”

Nikki: “Stop standing in the way of a climate transition.”

Anon: “Recall your Teslas. Fight fascism, please.”

Ava: “Go away. Get out of the government. Just go back to South Africa.”

At midday on Saturday, March 29, the Tesla Meatpacking showroom in New York closed its doors as protesters surrounded the building. It was the global day of action for the growing protest movement Tesla Takedown, and people of all ages were carrying signs with edits of Elon Musk kissing Trump’s feet and guillotine illustrations that read: “Sure, let’s do some cutting.” Soon, the crowd started yelling in synchronicity, “No more DOGE.” The sun was out; it was one of the hottest days of the year (so far) and hundreds of New Yorkers were aligned on a singular message: Elon Musk has got to go.

The Tesla Takedown website reads as a wake-up call: “No one is coming to save us.” The protests started in early February at just a handful of Tesla locations across the US. The idea is simple but (so far) effective: tank Tesla’s stock price by selling Teslas, dumping your stock and joining the picket lines to stop Musk on his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) crusade. Since February, the momentum has grown into people meeting every Saturday at hundreds of locations across the world. On Saturday, there were peaceful protests outside showrooms in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, there was a protest in nearly every state, across 200 locations throughout the northeast, south, midwest and west coast. 

Ahead, we asked New York’s Tesla protesters one question: What’s your message to Elon Musk? 

Dejah: “I want to say fuck you. The power of the people, united, will never be defeated. We will resist you at every step over the next four years. Get ready to step aside because the people are coming, organising and building power.”

Carol: “The people did not vote for him. He has no business being in government messing with people’s Social Security, Medicare and any of our benefits because we pay for that with our taxes and he doesn’t.”

Raga: “I’m here with Planet Over Profit, and I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people when I say we did not elect Elon Musk, and our rights cannot be bought. Our government can’t be bought. We don’t back the decisions he has made with his money. We don’t stand for that, and that’s why we’re here protesting today.”

Liv: “My message to Elon is that he’s not an elected official. He is a billionaire and has no place in our government. He has no place making decisions on behalf of the people because the people did not choose him.”

Michael: “Elon Musk needs to get the hell out of our government and stay away from our rights. He’s unelected, and we don’t trust him.”

Keith: “The subtle message is stay out of our government. You have no reason to be involved. You have no authority to do anything, and yet you’re making a giant mess of things. Stop doing it, or we will stop you.”

Gabi: “He needs to actually care about human beings instead of just being all about efficiency. He wants to make budget cuts, putting innocent people out of their jobs. Meanwhile, SpaceX is getting so much government funding. If we’re talking about efficiencies, he should start by self-reflecting on his own companies.”

Avery: “Just because you can buy your way into the government doesn’t mean you should.”

Nikki: “Stop standing in the way of a climate transition.”

Anon: “Recall your Teslas. Fight fascism, please.”

Ava: “Go away. Get out of the government. Just go back to South Africa.”