However, there was the feeling that at least some of the fall was due to anger over the political activism of Tesla, the political activism of Tesla and the decisions made by the so -called effectiveness of the government. Since mid-February, Tesla showrooms have attracted protesters in 100 cities in the US, which were eager to let passers-by knowing their feelings about the chainsaw muscular.
These largely kind-hearted, sidewalks lined protests-some with Mariachi orchestras, puppeteers and large cardboard cybertrucks to decorate-were arranged by a website called Teslatakedown, and in the process attracted very media coverage.
Alex Winter, a documentary manufacturer in Los Angeles and the titular bill of the comedy of the 1988 time travel Bill & Ted’s excellent adventure—Is the creator of the website. He says Wired that the Teslatakedown movement wants to overthrow Musk: ‘We intend to devalue the brand. It is a very simple and effective way for people to get on the street and protest. “Media coverage reinforces the message of the movement, says Winter. “We want to spread verifiable, factual information on musk, does, and why Tesla should be devalued.”
“Musk itself is the Tesla brand,” says Winter. “We just help him.”
Teslatakedown started last month, kicked off by a February 10 post on BlueSky by Joan Donovan, a disinformation researcher and assistant professor in journalism and emerging media studies at the University of Boston. “Come out and participate locally in an International Piket #testlatakeover,” she wrote and later agreed with the renaming of the movement.
“I asked myself, what was I willing to do physically to raise awareness [about Musk]? Well, I’m willing to go out on Saturdays and protest in front of a Tesla dealer, ”Donovan tells Wired. “I made a pamphlet and started spreading it online. Alex saw my post, and we started texting what to do; It all came together quickly. “
At the first demonstration in Boston on February 15, there were 50 people. By the third week it rose to 300. “I met teachers, people who work in public health, people who are retired, students at universities – all Americans who want to see dog disappear,” Donovan says. “It’s not just a strategic boycott of Tesla, it’s a polyvocal protest where many grievances are broadcast.”
Elon Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, has studied more than 300 modern uprisings worldwide and found that change usually becomes inevitable if just 3.5 percent of a population joins a movement.
“There are usually many more people who sympathize with movements than people who actively participate in it,” Chenoweth tells Wired.
So can Teslatakedown work quickly? “Instead of thinking about how long it lasts,” she says, “I usually look at whether a movement is pushing and building momentum with each subsequent action.
“In the social science of these movements, many people talk about eliciting disorders – which people within different pillars of support shift their loyalty from the status quo. In the case of corporations, these pillars, workers, suppliers, distributors, advertisers, consumers and those around them.”
Lose loyalties
Those pillars may show signs of instability. Across Reddit, Tiktok, Facebook and even X, posts have started to set up people who say they throw away their teslas. Singer Sheryl Crow was one of the more high-profile among them, who placed an Instagram video on Valentine’s Day and wanted a good chance on her Tesla while driven on a truck.
“There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla, “she wrote, adding that she donates the sales returns to the national public radio because it was” threatened by President Musk “.