A wave of “Tesla Takedown” protests targeting Elon Musk’s company swept the nation this weekend, all part of a purportedly grassroots campaign against Musk, DOGE, and the Trump administration. Now, Elon Musk and others claim the protests are the result of an astroturf campaign funded and organized by wealthy enemies of Donald Trump.
Hundreds of protests erupted outside of Tesla locations across the U.S., Canada and Europe on Saturday as part of a coordinated “global day of action” against the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk. Demonstrators rallied against Musk’s role leading a Department of Government Efficiency started by the Trump administration to streamline federal agencies. In at least one case, violence broke out at a protest.
However, some are questioning if the “Tesla Takedown” movement, billed by organizers as a grassroots campaign, is actually an example of “astroturfing” — disguising a coordinated corporate or political campaign as an organic, bottom-up initiative.
“Who is funding and organizing all these paid protests?” Musk asked on X early Sunday morning, sharing a video clip of podcast host Joe Rogan speculating that anti-Tesla protesters may be getting compensated.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s demonstrations, the “Tesla Takedown” effort was heavily promoted by left-leaning advocacy groups like the Action Network, MoveOn and Indivisible. The groups reportedly provided protesters with toolkits including scripted chants, printed signs and detailed “rules of engagement.”
This top-down coordination has fueled accusations that the “grassroots” framing is just a facade. “While local #TeslaTakedown protests may appear spontaneous and community-driven, they are the product of well-funded, tightly coordinated campaigns led by national political organizations,” tweeted Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who has written about astroturfing.
Other circumstantial evidence has further stoked claims of inauthenticity. In Southlake, Texas, protesters reportedly dispersed immediately at noon “the minute it was 12:00 pm” according to an eyewitness, as if they were on a schedule. A photo from a Seattle rally appeared to show a demonstrator holding a sheet of pre-written chants.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
