‘Shots fired’ at Tesla protests in the US

“Tesla Takedown” rallies have turned destructive with gunshots and molotov cocktails as protesters rail against the company’s CEO Elon Musk.

Anti-Tesla protests in the US have turned violent as criticism of chief executive Elon Musk gathers speed.

Hundreds of people upset by Elon Musk’s role in US politics - particularly in the Department of Government Efficincy (DOGE) that has cut public sector jobs - gathered at Tesla dealerships across the US as part of a “Tesla Takedown” movement.

Police in Tigard, a town near Portland, Oregon, said a Tesla dealership was “damaged by gunfire” on Thursday.

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Police in Oregon say shots were fired at a Tesla dealership. Photo: Tigard Police Department

“Investigators believe at least seven shots were fired, damaging 3 cars and shattering windows,” police said.

“One bullet went through an office wall and into a computer monitor. Fortunately, this happened overnight when the property was unoccupied.

“While the motivation for this has not been confirmed, we are aware that other Tesla dealerships have been targeted across Oregon and the nation for political reasons.”

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Police stand guard as protesters gather outside of a Manhattan Tesla dealership. Photo: Photo SPENCER PLATT / Getty Images

Musk posted on X on March 5 that “damaging the property of others, aka vandalism, is not free speech!”

Police responded to a weekend protest in New York where hundreds of people aimed to shut down a Tesla dealership.

The New York Post reported that six people were arrested during the protest.

Other Tesla facilities in the US have been damaged by fire, including seven charging stations in Boston.

The protests have also spread to Europe.

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Arsonists have targeted Tesla in the US and abroad. Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

Protesters in Berlin started fires at a Tesla building site, while French activists torched around a dozen cars at a dealership in Toulouse.

France is once again showing us how to protest pic.twitter.com/Ylw7uUQVwm

— Gritty is the Way (@Gritty20202) March 5, 2025

Several news services published features across the weekend exploring the rise in anti-Musk and anti-Tesla sentiment sweeping the US.

A Tesla owner told the New York Times they are “embarrassed to be seen in that car now”, while Rolling Stone wrote that “Anti-Tesla sentiment is at an all-time high, whether expressed through rude bumper stickers and peaceful protest or vandalism and arson, in part because Musk has continually stoked tension with his far-right politics”.

People participate in a "Tesla Takedown" protest against Elon Musk in California. Photo: Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

The Washington Post wrote about a Colorado woman that visited a Tesla dealership on several occasions to vandalise cars and attempt to start a fire with a molotov cocktail.

Matt Hiller, a graphic designer in Hawaii, told the San Francisco Chronicle he was selling hundreds of anti-Tesla stickers every day, including a popular item that said

Sells hundreds of stickers every day, “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy”.

“The biggest thing I’m hearing is people want to sell their Teslas and can’t,” Hiller told The Chronicle.

“They are deeply embarrassed, so they are buying the stickers and sticking them on” for the time being.”