The protests that protested outside Tesla’s showroom over Elon Musk’s role this weekend to lead President Donald Trump’s government efficiency are flying questions about who is funding “grassroots” demonstrations.
“Who’s funding and organising all these paid protests?” Musk was posted to X early Sunday morning, accompanied by a video clip of podcast host Joe Logan, who is discussing the recent leftist protests.
The “Tesla Takedown” movement was recently formed, with over 200 protests planned in the US on Saturday, and hundreds more protests planned in Canada and Europe as part of the “World Day of Action.” In the US, the protest scheduled for Saturday was promoted by actors, filmmakers, congressmen, academics and activists who led the “large mobilization call” last week, and was promoted in the media as a “grassroots” effort working to tank Tesla stocks in the media.
The Tesla location has faced violence in recent weeks as Musk and his Doge team investigate federal agencies seeking government spending, fraud and mismanagement, but critics accusing the Trump administration of creating “oligarchy” by tapping billionaires to streamline federal operations.
Doge is a cross-sectional organization established to slim and streamline the federal government. The group will disband on July 4th, 2026.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be introducing CyberTruck at Tesla’s design studio on November 21, 2019 in Hawthorn, California. (AP Photo/Ringo hw chiu)
Saturday’s protest was billed as “non-violence” and retained signs of anti-swastika and rebels while showing off a line of people dancing outside the Teslas store. Others protested outside the Tesla dealer for several hours, local media reported. Some signs read “I didn’t buy a swasticar” or “No one was chosen.”
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Saturday’s US protests were extended from New York to Maryland, Texas and California. Many of the rally saw dozens of protesters, but larger protests, like one in Chicago, attracted crowds of over 100 and the other in New York attracted hundreds, various media reports have shown.
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“Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest. It opposes violence, vandalism and the destruction of property. This protest is a legitimate exercise of our first amendment right to a peaceful assembly.”
The weekly demonstration continues outside the Tesla store on March 29, 2025, in New York City’s West Village area, to protest Elon Musk and his role in the Department of Government Efficiency. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
“People at the rally must be peaceful and non-violent,” another leftist group, the indivisible, described the protest in New Jersey, which included instructions on what to chant with passersby. “There is no vandalism of Tesla cars or stores. Or the shaming of Tesla drivers is allowed. Once the Tesla driver passes, “sell Tesla and trade in place of booing. Private property. The inseparable policy of engaging in counter protesters (and other protesters) is this for the safety of all.”
Local news outlets, media personalities and conservative critics have speculated that recent anti-Tesla protests have been caught up in “astroturfing.” This is defined by Merriam Webster as a “grassroots mismade” campaign.
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Protesters will meet outside the Tesla showroom in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I know something is Astroturf. A fun fact: I was one of the first reporters (if not the first) and put the concept of “astroturf” on the Wall Street Journal page as an international trade reporter.
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“While local #teslatakedown protests may appear voluntary and community-driven protests, they are the product of a funded, tightly coordinated campaign led by inseparable projects, http://moveon.org, and a professional protest company,” Nomani continued.
Nomani wrote a Fairfax Times work entitled “Local #Teslatakedown,” in which Local #Teslatakedown reveals “grassroots” protests.
“These groups use digital platforms, pre-written chants, pre-printed signs and a national toolkit that manufactures the appearance of grassroots activities, and the Tyco Road message reflects the language of national protests. This kind of organisation is known as “Astroturfing.”
Podcast host Joe Rogan speculated in a clip shared by Musk that protesters from the past few days had received money to take part in the anti-Tesla protests.
A banner in front of the Tesla store in Reinikundorf, Berlin, Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo Alliance by jörg Carstensen/Getty Images)
“For many losers, many people who don’t do well in life were losers at many points in my life. It appears that “Yeah, let’s go,” “Joe Rogan Experience” was released on Saturday.
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“They were giving people $1,000 to protest. I think it was Tesla. They liked the engagement rules when someone came after you… do you organize a gang? Why, even on the table, I thought this was a peaceful protest,” he continued.
Five Tesla vehicles were set on fire and were shot dead in Las Vegas on March 18th in what police are investigating as a “target attack.” (Hal Sparks via Storyful)
Other X users have joined social media to speculate and condemn the Tesla protest as an example of astroturfing.
“Astroturf: Jasmine Crockett officials are working with a paid protest group backed by Soros to organize canned protests at Tesla stores in the US, where Democrats are hoping to be “fallen” on their birthday.
“New: Tesla protesters will stop protesting at the moment when reading 12pm at the South Lake Texas Steth Latteslu store, according to @Carlos__Turcios. Odd, “Colin Rugg, co-owner of trend politics, posted on X.
Tesla Group leaders have warned of violent protests against car owners.
Some protesters report packing bags at midday in Texas. It sparked further criticism of “Astroturfing” in “Astroturfing”.
Attorney General Pam Bondy vowed that violent protesters who attacked and caused damage in Tesla’s showrooms will face the full force of the law. (Hal Sparks via Storyful)
Seattle radio host Jason Lantz shared a photo of X showing Tesla protesters holding sheets of scripted chants during the demonstrations that Musk called them “interesting” in the response X post.
Fox News Digital reached out to Action Network and Indivisible on MoveOn.org regarding Astroturf’s speculation on Sunday morning, but did not immediately receive a comment.
Saturday’s protests were overwhelmingly peaceful. Justice Department Director Pam Bondy vowed earlier this month that violent protesters who attack and harm themselves at Tesla showrooms and other property will face the full power of the law.
Baltimore area residents will protest the Trump administration and Elon Musk at Tesla car dealers on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East/AFP via Getty Images)
“The days of committing crimes without consequences are over,” Bondy said. “Let’s make this a warning. If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla’s property, the Department of Justice will put you behind the bar.”
The Las Vegas man was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of involvement in a Molotov cocktail attack on Tesla’s property. The suspect in that case faces felony charges that include three counts of arson, possession of three explosive devices, shooting a car five counts of a car, and four counts of personal property, according to local police.
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Musk said on X on Saturday that “people fire bullets at Tesla stores and being violent in general is what I call a Nazi when I literally zeroed violence.”
ALEC Schemmel from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
