Some of the most visible and successful protests of 2025 have been the organized demonstrations and disinvestments from all things Elon Musk and Tesla. Since Musk accepted his position at the newly-formed DOGE in the Trump administration, people around the world have been working hard to hit Musk where it hurts: Tesla, the biggest piece of his fortune. There have been widespread protests outside of Tesla dealerships across North America and Europe. Few people are buying Teslas, profits are down significantly, and for the past three months, Tesla’s stock has been steadily tanking. There’s still more to do though – Tesla’s stock should crash and burn (like Teslas themselves). Well, the first-quarter numbers are in and they’ve scared the sh-t out of Musk. To the point where he’s now publicly saying that he’s going to spend less time in DC and more time working at Tesla.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he would spend less time in Washington working for President Trump after the automaker reported a profit drop of 71 percent in the first three months of the year.
Mr. Musk told Wall Street analysts in a conference call that he would continue to spend “a day or two per week” on Washington matters, probably for the duration of Mr. Trump’s presidency. He spoke less than two hours after Tesla said it had earned $409 million, down from $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The company previously reported net profit of $1.1 billion last year, but revised the figure to reflect changes in the way cryptocurrency assets are valued.
Tesla sales have been slumping because of intense competition from Chinese carmakers like BYD, a lack of new models and Mr. Musk’s support of far-right causes, which has turned off some liberals and centrists from buying Tesla vehicles.
Mr. Musk said recent protests at Tesla showrooms around the world had been conducted by people who stood to lose government handouts because of his work with the Trump administration. “The real reason is that those who are receiving the waste and fraud wish it to continue,” he said.
Tesla remains the most valuable automaker in the world as measured by its stock price, and it sells far more electric vehicles in the United States than any other company. But its shares have lost about half their value since mid-December as investors have grown more pessimistic about the company’s prospects and concerned about Mr. Musk’s role in the Trump administration. Some investors and analysts have recently called on Mr. Musk to spend more time managing Tesla and limit or end his work for the Trump administration.
EV buyers and potential buyers: are you avoiding Teslas because better EVs are being made by other companies, or are you avoiding Teslas because Elon Musk is a deranged Nazi idiot and you’re now convinced that Teslas are poorly-made death traps? A little of column A, a little of column B, I would think. As I said, from where I sit, this has been one of the most successful protests, especially what they’re doing to Tesla in Europe. It really is hitting Musk where it hurts. Don’t let up – Tesla’s stock could fall even further.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Elon Musk gives remarks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House, as he meets with US President Donald Trump, in Washington DC on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Copyright: xAaronxSchwartzx/,Image: 962588584, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Aaron Schwartz / CNP /MediaPunch/Avalon/Avalon
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- Elon Musk gives remarks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House, as he meets with US President Donald Trump, in Washington DC on Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Copyright: xAaronxSchwartzx/,Image: 962588749, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Aaron Schwartz / CNP /MediaPunch/Avalon/Avalon
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- Anti-Musk Protestors stage a protest at a Tesla Dealership at Park Royal in London, England, UK on Saturday 29 March, 2025 as part of a global protest against its owner Elon Musk organised by ‘Tesla Takedown’.,Image: 981079985, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Anti-Musk Protestors stage a protest at a Tesla Dealership at Park Royal in London, England, UK on Saturday 29 March, 2025 as part of a global protest against its owner Elon Musk organised by ‘Tesla Takedown’.,Image: 981080046, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Anti-Musk Protestors stage a protest at a Tesla Dealership at Park Royal in London, England, UK on Saturday 29 March, 2025 as part of a global protest against its owner Elon Musk organised by ‘Tesla Takedown’.,Image: 981080158, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump gives remarks to the media, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC Featuring: Elon Musk, Donald Trump Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Feb 2025 Credit: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/INSTARimages
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- United States President Donald Trump speaks in front of a group of Tesla vehicles with Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, and his son, X, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2025. President Trump has said he will buy a Tesla to support Tesla and Elon Musk after recent attacks on Tesla charging stations and calls for boycotts of Tesla products. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Elon Musk, X Musk Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Mar 2025 Credit: Samuel Corum/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, speaks in front of a group of Tesla vehicles with US President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2025. President Trump has said he will buy a Tesla to support Tesla and Elon Musk after recent attacks on Tesla charging stations and calls for boycotts of Tesla products. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA) Featuring: Donald J Trump, Elon Musk Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Mar 2025 Credit: Samuel Corum/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- United States President Donald Trump speaks in front of a Tesla Model S with Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2025. President Trump has said he will buy a Tesla to support Tesla and Elon Musk after recent attacks on Tesla charging stations and calls for boycotts of Tesla products. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Elon Musk Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 11 Mar 2025 Credit: Samuel Corum/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
I am sorry for people working for Tesla.
But I hope it tanks HARD.
Well if other EV companies are making
Money, Tesla employees could go there. I rather support companies that aren’t led by Nazis.
Personally I bought a Cadillac lyric because it’s an outstanding EV AND I hate musk. So win win for me.
My husband loves his Lyric! Tesla was never an option. Elon has been awful for a long time. May the consequences of his actions continue!
Who did Musk think was buying his cars? MAGA nuts think EVs are some sort of demon vehicle invented by George Soros to put microchips in their brains.
He’s done so much damage to this country in that role, I hope Tesla continues to sink and oust him so that they can rebuild.
I was hoping the number would be higher.. hopefully next quarter it will be. I don’t think anything he does will save this dying company unless he outright sells it and has no involvement whatsoever.. he did this to himself and I can’t wait until this man is a world wide pariah not welcome anywhere.
A number of my family members have the Mach E Mustang and like it very much. Bought it before the Elon disaster and because it was the better car. I myself am not disciplined enough with charging to be trusted with an EV. If I do switch, I wouldn’t go with Tesla because of EVERYTHING.
I have a tesla 🫣🥴 and economically it doesn’t make sense for me to buy a new car right now. But when I do, I will definitely check out other EVs (*love* driving an EV). Preferably an EV that has an adapter to utilize tesla’s supercharger network.
Same. Plus it was the best option when we were looking. I just wish he would sell Tesla.
I saw a Tesla in the grocery store parking lot with a bumper sticker that said “Trust me, I hate him too.”
Just a friendly reminder to not vandalize people’s cars. Not cool. Don’t burn Teslas either—terrible for the environment. Protests at Tesla dealerships and boycotts on the other hand are great. The best revenge against him is tanking Tesla stock.
I do hope that folks with Teslas don’t get killed on the trade-in value but if they do, only Elon is to blame.
Just watch out if you want to utilize free charging. They are often converted to paid charging. The free companies will sale to the big guys without notifying anyone.
@Kittenmom – Few years back a lady at work bought one of those Chevy Volts. She said she was driving it ~1,000 miles to her parent’s place. I’ve always had e-car range anxiety, so asked her about the trip. She said there was a phone app that helped people plan their routes for charging. There are all kinds of places to charge – city and county govts, Walmarts, supermarkets, etc. When she got back, she said the charge-route app worked great. But what she found helpful was discovering it was ok to charge vehicle only up to 80% or 85% capacity. She said she got almost as much mileage out of 80% as 100% without spending lots of extra time getting to 100%.
Anyone here think Tesla really and truly wants Elon anywhere near them right now?! In terms of marketing, he’s fairly toxic. Plus, Teslas (at least in the EU) built their reputation on their product, not on customer service. Given the interactive global web, Elon is not going to be able to wiggle his way out of all the tariffs, and I can’t imagine anyone believing he’s going to invest in better service. Or the slug/ rodent issues.
Presuming this is either a face-saving measure or a decoy move…what has he gotten via DOGE, and has he gotten what he came for and isn’t needed close by?
Hey, Kids: Don’t Do Drugs!
They’ll wreck your brain, and then DT will think you’re cool.
Brain damage. It isn’t just a screening criteria. It’s also useful for evaporating $$$ value.
Every time I see that top pic I think have we got a deal for you! Buy a Tesler! It’s all computer!
I would not have bought a tesla even before all of this. One–VERY VERY VERY expensive, too rich for me. Two–the get totaled very easily because of the way the body is made. Three–they always seemed douchey to me. Four–charging them seems annoying and installing something at your house seems daunting. Five–I also don’t feel like electric is totally the answer to gas, because electricity causes pollution too, just in a different way, and it seems like a drain in places where the power grid isn’t as strong.
I looked at hybrids last time I bought, in 2022, and at least toyotas are self-charging. But again. too expensive for me. I really thought I’d be able to afford a nice-ish car by the time I hit this age (nearing 50) but it seems like everything
My next car-want is a Toyota hybrid and I want to save for it, but yes, Toyotas are expensive and with these tariffs, prices are going to skyrocket. Still want the car though.
“The real reason is that those who are receiving the waste and fraud wish it to continue,” he said.
F8ck you Elmot and all that you are. I am sorry for Tesla employees but more sorry for Americans losing their federal jobs or losing out on social programs and other benefits because of this hideous troll. I hope the Tesla stock tanks.
I am a federal worker who is being laid off in June because DOGE and Elon failed to understand the valuable public service my team and I performed regarding oversight of federal tax dollars. My team saved more money than it cost taxpayers as we worked to ensure compliance with federal dollars, yet it didn’t matter because oversight and enforcement have been gutted at the US Department of Education and other federal agencies. He didn’t bother to understand the value of work we did and has found every occasion to ridicule and dismiss it. So it might not come as a shock that I welcome these developments even if I know he will still be pulling strings behind the scenes.
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away I might have aspired to own a Tesla seeing it as a solution to our dependence on gas guzzlers, but given the Nazism, fascism, and the fact that this man is literally causing me my livelihood, I’m not joking when I say I would rather ride the bus than ride in or drive a Tesla. He still doesn’t get it. The damage is done and it will not long be forgotten given how he went about doing it. I at one time might have been one of the customers Tesla should have targeted, yet Elon’s actions have taken a torch to their target demo, and made the brand toxic.
It’s unfortunate to see something you have put your all into, Elon, being decimated like it is nothing. That’s what happened to the work I did in public service. Guess we have found something we have in common, shockingly but I think we can do better and make so you never have the power and authority to wreak the damage you have done again, since you showed us what you would do with that power and who you would target.
I am truly sorry that you are losing your job. I hope you find another job soon. I come from a family that worked for Federal and I appreciate and respect all Federal workers. I have so many friends who have lost their jobs due to these DOGE cuts. Many of them don’t have the experience or skillset to work in the private sector outside of retail. And many of them have families, kids they’re putting through college, mortgages, etc. I hurt for them because I don’t know what they’re going to do. I wish you success and stability in your career move and all the best to you and your family.
Your comment was everything. I hope you find a job you like and that you are happy and prosperous. The ONLY thing this troglodytic regime understands is greed. We might not have much money but they want every last penny. Let’s make them fight each other for our money.
Just adding my +1 to the fact that you really did say everything.
Your story is so enraging and please know so many Americans are disgusted by how you were treated.
A sign of the times for Tesla—this week, The Price is Right had a Tesla in one of its showcases. To add a bit of egg on Muskrat’s face, the contestant overbid on the car.
Perhaps when Muskrat finishes destroying this country, his next endeavor will be a game show model.
When you build a company’s reputation and brand value based on one person’s personality and reputation, and they do a 180, AND your only product starts having safety issues…
you lose 71% in profits. Easy math.
He should spend 100% less time on earth and launch his cyber truck built-ass into space.
Elon isn’t leaving government because of some epiphany that he had. Since he’s not an official government employee, he’s only allowed to work for the government for a limit amount of days PER YEAR. His time is up for this year but he will still be involved behind the scenes. We’ll never forget that he started ruining people’s lives with DOGE. Keep the protest going and put him out of business. He manipulated control of the Tesla from the original owners so I’m hoping the board gives him the boot without a parachute.
I would consider a EV when there are more charging stations. The irony of how the republicans were against adding charging stations but are giving lip service in support of Tesla. Notice I said lip service. They aren’t moving to add more charging stations; just protect the existing Tesla station.
Everything is theatre with this administration.
I’ve also seen that people cannot get insurance for those stupid cyber trucks
Hopefully they will go the way of the Hummer.
Hummer is back, lol. Fully electric too. That thing is a beast.
I cannot imagine Elon’s return to the helm at Tesla is likely to result in people flocking back to buying their cars. The loss of sales can be tied to many things but Elon Musk is a huge negative. Like Trump, everything Elon touches, eventually fails.
😍
Last week I visited NYC and rode in a Tesla for the first time via Uber. The door handles piss me off! And the door open button on the inside is annoying too. Who ever complained about a door handle that required the stupid “fix” Teslas have? A flat door handle is frigging dumb and so is stupid Elon. I hope he goes broke and has to live in one.
I rode in a Tesla via Uber too. The driver had to tell me how to open and close the door. I didn’t feel safe in the car. It felt like I was riding in a tin cup and I hated being in anything helmed by Elmot (although my Uber driver was quite sweet and lovely, she has bad taste in cars). I also recently rode in a hybrid Toyota highlander via Uber and I LOVE THAT CAR!!!!
Only time I’ve ever been in a Tesla was also in a ride share and the handles are SO ANNOYING. Maybe you get used to them eventually but the design just sucks—not intuitive at all.
I bet he thought leaning into MAGA would result in more sales from the extreme right.
But the majority are not rich and would never have the money to spend. They are the group Trump is working against, but they still refuse to see it.
And the people that can afford a Tesla are speaking by withholding their wallet.
HA – HA.
These investors and analysts need to do a little more analysis- Tesla isn’t losing money because Elon isn’t spending enough time managing it. Tesla is losing money because Elon IS the ketamine-bloated face of the whole company.
That’s the part that has me scratching my head. He’s not a draw.
Given that they lie about everything my assumption is this is a cover for something else (while also in theory reassuring investors).
Agree. I chalked that take up to them being afraid to say the actual truth.
Exactly. The damage is done. We will not forget, and we will not forgive.
And Tesla was only profitable at all because of a program where other companies who aren’t making electric cars buy credits from those who do. Apparently Tesla got $585 million from other car manufacturers, that’s what kept them out of the red. Elon’s whole deal is hating the government because he relies so much on it.
I wish his leaving DC would mean a lot about a swing back to sanity but he’s already deposited his toxic little tech worms into all the systems and has Starlink attached .. lots of government monies siphoning out of programs for the rest of us into his coffers.
it’s a start though.
When my Mazda lease was up in March, I looked around at hybrids because I was tired of low-ish gas mileage and a small gas tank. I got an excellent lease deal on a plug in hybrid Lexus (Toyota really has the longest history building hybrids). In 2 months, I have had to fill the tank ONCE. I get 40 miles electric, so almost ALL of my day to day driving is under electric. I plug it in to a regular household outlet and it fully charges overnight. Now, if there was some way to recharge it using solar that wasn’t a beast to install, I’d LOVE that! BTW, I didn’t even consider Tesla – getting them fixed is a pain in the a55 because you often have to wait months for parts or an appointment.
I didn’t want the hassle of finding charging stations when traveling (we go up to San Fran from LA at least 2-3 times a year to be with family), so I got a Lexus ES300h, a gas hybrid: all the benefits of a plug in, but no plug!). I get 40/gal, and even better on the freeway. I fill up about once every 3 months, sometimes longer between if I’ve only been hopping around town. I can go up to SF on ONE TANK, no stopping for gas! It drives like a dream, it’s not too big, and not too small (perfectly comfortable for 4 adults easily: my nephews and one of their gfs drove up in my car with me and they are tall!). Another good alternate to an EV.
I bought a hybrid Honda a couple years ago and also really like it. It is so nice to not have to fill up the tank very often. My husband was leery about getting a full EV and I’m glad we went with a hybrid vehicle.
When does that rocket ship to Mars launch? Elon obviously needs something else to do, now that he’s wrecked the US.
I have a Hyundai Kona EV and I love it. When I first started talking about getting an EV 5 years ago, my 20-something year old sons told me they would disown me if I bought a Tesla. They knew back then that he was an evil idiot.
For anyone thinking about an EV, I highly recommend it – anything but a Tesla – as long as you don’t regularly have to drive more than 300 miles at a time. The electric company reimbursed me the cost of installing a charger. I just plug in at night when it’s getting low.
I have a Kona, too, and love it! Great little car. I bought it with the federal tax credit which saved me several thousand.
I mostly use it for around town driving, so switching to electric wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be.
Kinda surprised that people think that Leon returning to manage the company would help matters at all. Clearly, he’s just a stupid, incompetent dipsh*t Nazi adjacent eugenicist.
I got a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid last year. I’m still a little iffy on going full electric. I probably will do so if there’s ever a Toyota Tacoma EV equivalent. But I’m anticipating I’ll need to hold on to my Corolla Cross for the next four years with all the economic ups and downs.
There was a report that during the same period, the EV sales increased. So, people are still buying these cars, they just prefer a brand whose owner isn’t publicly playing a f*cking Nazi.
All things considered I would never buy a Tesla because of Musk. He’s made the brand toxic to the majority of his base buyers who, at least in California, tend very liberal and probably chose the car partly for the lower environmental impact. Shouldn’t that have been obvious to him when he hooked up with the orange moron?
He probably figured the benefits of getting government “off his back” and infiltrating its systems was a better gamble. The thing about drug/ego addiction is that you take crazier and crazier risks till you crash conclusively,
So he was allowed to ravage our highly secure data without oversight (probably keeping it), indiscriminately fire thousands of people, spread lies, do a salute (from a genocidal time in world history) in front of the presidential podium, and now he gets to just walk away? He must be held accountable, even if it’s after DJT is gone.
Leon’s being forced out, he isn’t actively choosing to cut back his DOGE hatchet work. Yes, Tesla is crashing bad but he’s made such a freaking mess of everything else that even Trump is starting to think he’s a liability. The latest faux-pas is Gary Shapley (new head of the IRS) being forced out after less than 72 hours on the job. Liz Truss must be heaving a sigh of relief.
He’s been quiet the past few weeks. Seems like he needed to save Tesla and focus in the robo-taxi competition (with Waymo/Google).
I think him jumping ship is setting the tone for the rest of Trump’s disastrous administration.
How about we ship him off to Mars. No space gear.
Tesla was having problems before this with getting new customers. Then factor in Elon is being accused of pumping and dumping Tesla stock to help fund his twitter purchase. I believe in the end whatever he was really doing at Doge will help him. It may tank Tesla but it will help him.