Washington DC—Citizens angry with Elon Musk’s DOGE takeover of Federal government agencies rallied outside multiple mega-billionaire Tesla dealerships Saturday to tell him they aren’t putting up with his Federal government cuts and his explanation for the cost cutting “mandate“ policies. It was the first salvo in what may become a grassroots movement targeting the billionaire’s commercial interests and empire as the result of his bullying tactics of Federal government agencies, workers and operations.
Protesters rallied outside Rockville MD Tesla, Georgetown Washington DC Tesla, and Arlington VA Tesla dealerships while drivers honked in support as they went by. (Video below). Tesla protests were reported at dealerships from coast to coast.
About 50 crowded in front of the Georgetown Tesla for about two hours holding signs and others chalked the sidewalk outside the upscale dealership. In Arlington VA about 100 demonstrators stood outside on the sidewalk in a cold drenching rain as motorists passed on South Glebe Road as many drivers honked in support of the demonstrators.
Dealers were seen through the giant pane windows watching from windows and speaking on their phones as the spectacle of protesters disrupted the usual calm outside the high-windowed dealerships. It was the first time in this region protesters organized against the business operations of major car company dealerships, at least in living memory, but these are not normal times and in these times its not business as usual.
The billionaire Musk and a team of a self-described DOGE “special government employees’ has taken over, taken down, and fired thousands of Federal employees from many agencies in key Federal government departments which have been tasked with providing a wide array of vital services to every American. Musk-Trump presidential team (it is difficult to tell for sure which is actually the president) has offered no alternative to what system or organization will replace the vital services of the agencies being shuttered and it is certain to create social and economic disruption as government services are eliminated and agencies cease to function.
Over 200,000 Federal employees have been laid off or fired since Trump took office on January 20, just 26 days ago. Another 2 million more Federal employees are in the cross hairs of his reductions in force. The mass job loss in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia region is also almost certain to crater the economy here in the coming months, although no significant data on the Federal employee losses will be available for some time.
The demonstrations at Tesla dealerships were not organized by any one group but were the combination of many groups acting in concert. Citizen anger against Musk’s Federal government takeover and aggressive employee reductions has welled up online over the past two weeks and many groups came together in multiple demonstrations over that time. Targeting Tesla dealership with demonstrations could be seen as a natural reaction to that anger as many just showed up for the solidarity actions.
Most of Elon Musk’s wealth is connected to his Tesla Car company. As the world’s richest man, he controls about $395 billion, 75% of which is attributed to Tesla stock and his Space X corporations. According to a published report in Forbes his wealth was estimated to be $403 billion in December 2024. The price of his Tesla Car company stock dropped 17% to $356 per share as of February 14 from $424 per share on January 20, in the weeks after Trump was sworn in as president. In that time Trump initiated a trade war with Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe. Canada responded specifically targeting Tesla with 100% tariffs. Musk’s popularity has also dropped significantly according to a published report in Economic Times.
