Arlington, VA—‘Oh my goodness!’ one may exclaim, after they’ve stepped into the news to find how the president and his staff’s willful disregard of the law has led to corruption, chaos, and incivility. The regime’s takedown of government, civil liberties, and disregard of the law brought the country to the brink of an unrecognizable country. It has been a period of conflict of many orders the likes of which the country has not seen since the Civil War, or perhaps never before seen. And though many citizens felt silenced, ruminated quietly without knowing what to do, or were untuned to it altogether, or physically unable to respond, there has been a group that has continued resistance all through the last 2 years.
The Arlington Tesla Takedown built an island of peace and joy—right beside a noisy road. It began as a fledgling resistance and turned into a group of informed and influential
It all started 88 weeks ago and to be exact, on February 15, 2025. The self-described fake agency calling itself the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was running roughshod through the government as an unelected business tycoon, Elon Musk was appointed in the Oval Office to help take government agencies apart. While he was gesturing with Nazi salutes and wielding chainsaw policy throughout the bureaucratic norms of public service, he unleashed a group of scorched earth data interlopers into the hall of the Treasury, USAID, Social Security Administration, Office of Personnel Management, and many others. He led a government takeover in the guise of cost cutting which many began to concluded was actually costing billions and no longer serving the people’s needs. It morphed into a spigot of non-competitive bid contracts for the billionaire class which funded it’s own ascent to power.
Tesla Takedown was the people’s response to Musks ill-advised takeover and his greed. A group of teachers set up shop outside his busy Glebe Road Tesla showroom. They eventually settled on Saturday and Sunday weekly rallies with a Tuesday afternoon rally for commuters. Against the odds, their rallies lasted through the Winter and into Spring. As the president’s policies morphed from bad to worse, their signage followed the various themes of resistance messages.
As it became more apparent that White House intended more power and began to abuse it more and more, and government was descending into authoritarian control and licking at the feet of fascism, many dropped out of the weekly rallies. ICE was blitzing the local immigrant community and unthinkable violence against citizens and immigrants alike in cities beyond, posed a threat there. What would prevent police from targeting Tesla Takedown? Right Wing media personalities began visiting the group trying to goad them into disputes for clicks.
Third Act became involved in the resistance and provided training courses in deescalation skills and police liaison and it gave them a springboard to build their confidence. Yet many drivers by harassed them while they stood with signs along the road. Someone threw a fish. Others showed up to verbally abuse them. Some hurled insults from the cars as they passed.
But by far, the majority of drivers passed by with honks of approval and thumbs up. Dogs and children looked curiously at the line outside the Tesla showroom. Some stopped and gave the line drinks and food.
The Arlington Tesla protectors began to strategize their signage as artists came forward with their skills to design attractive banners and posters. Many dipped into their pockets and spent hundreds if not thousands on art supplies and other materials. Rolls of duct tape saved Apollo 13 and it saved them on many art projects too. ‘Does anyone have some duct tape?’ was probably the most common question asked next to ‘Where’s that black sharpie?
As The protectors no longer referred to themselves as protesters because they were protecting their community and giving hope to immigrants and green card families passing by and there were many migrant workers who waved and slowed to say thank you. The signage changed again into messages of support written in Spanish.
What had begun as a protest rally by a small group of teachers was transforming into an intricate organization with each sharing their role. Someone designed orange vests so designated members could clear the sidewalk if a scooter or bike sped by. Another designed badges to distinguish those who consented to be in cellular photos as opposed to those who did not. A comms channel for coordinating activities soon led to two channels and then three channels. One for general discussion and another for intricate planning. Yet another was set up for other details.
In the summer some were overcome with heat and others stood in the breach to bring cold water in coolers to the rallies on hot days. Others brought homemade cookies or treats and the collection of signs grew and grew. That Summer they coordinated a video skit with signs of fascism they painted. The video was of different members holding and dropping the ‘signs of fascism’ set to the popular resistance rap by Public Enemy, ‘Fight The Power’ They released it on social media to high acclaim. It won top award for video content among the hundreds of Tesla Takedown sites across the country.
Summer led to Autumn and the protectors persevered into their second Winter—then it snowed and a heavy ice storm on top of it left a foot of unmovable hard ice. But they came anyway with shovels and hammers and chipped away at the ice until there was a place to stand. They continued their rally under the grip of a polar vortex.
A few weeks before the midterm elections several tabled the idea of painting car windows as advertisements to others to vote. There was a special chat set up for this purpose. Hundreds upon hundred of messages later they coordinated food, a flyer, reaching out to other groups, logistics, and attendance for tge event. Dozens showed up to have their car windows messaged for the November 3 election. It was a success.
Through the last 2 years, the protectors have shared stories about how they felt about the breakdown of social norms across the nation under authoritarian leadership. It has been traumatizing for them all. But sharing their feelings helped them navigate the new society they shared. They supported each other through their struggles. This helped them keep showing up each week to bounce back from disheartening events. They found more and more that they needed each other.
Through all this they were building a support group that would last. They found resilience by their own accord. But no one really called it that. They called it their community, their people.
New York Fire Department Chief Joseph Pfeifer, was the first fire chief to arrive at the World Trade Center after American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. He wrote about resilience in his book ‘Ordinary Heroes.’ He also spoke about the elements of resilience in an interview on the 25th anniversary of 9-11. When speaking to a question of how he and his fire team was able to make it through the difficult period after the 9-11 attacks, he told of his firefighters coming together, sharing stories and experiences, telling about their feelings and emotions, supporting each other, and connecting with unity through their hearts.
In effect, Tesla Takedown Arlington has unknowingly followed this same blueprint of reliance. It has sustained them all the way through the victory of the midterm election. They held a roadside ceremony and celebration on Friday in front of Tesla showroom with a big blue wave their artists put together before the election. They shared their stories and good food. Everyone pitched in to help the group have a good time. Someone brought brownies and another brought pizza. Someone brought lawn chairs. There were cold drinks and plenty of laughter. And yes there were signs and banners. That’s not likely to ever change.
That day they were celebrating for themselves. But in reality everything they had done the last 2 years was also for themselves.
