Tesla protesters target Musk's bottom line as stock price falls

What you probably already know: Protesters took to the sidewalks outside of Tesla stores across the U.S. this past weekend to protest the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, and the work he is doing for President Donald Trump to slash jobs and government spending. Some of the “Tesla Takedown” protests resulted in arrests and many featured cardboard cutouts of Musk giving the Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration. Tesla stock has plummeted in the weeks since Trump took office — down from a high of $479 a share in December to $281 a share last Thursday — as Musk continues to berate federal employees, gain access to sensitive government data and eliminate thousands of positions through his Department of Government Efficiency.

Why? Teslas were, until recently, a liberal status symbol. Now, they’ve become a symbol of the Trump administration’s strongman tactics. Tesla resale values were already dropping last year because of lack of demand but early reports suggest people are struggling to sell them amid the controversy. In many places, people have started putting stickers on their Teslas that say “I bought this before I knew Elon was crazy,” and other similar sentiments. Teslas and Cybertrucks have also been targets of vandalism, as have the stores themselves.

What it means: The protesters are taking aim at Musk’s personal wealth, much of which is tied up in shares of the companies he owns, including Tesla. Protests aren’t limited to the U.S. People in England, Spain and Portugal have also come out to share their dissatisfaction with Musk’s role in the U.S. government. Musk owns about 13% of Tesla stock and is the largest shareholder in the electric vehicle company.

What happens now? Tesla shareholders are livid about the massive drops in value and have taken to Musk’s own social media network, X, to express their displeasure. “Please share five things you did for Tesla shareholders this week. Or are you working remotely? Asking for all of us,” wrote Jerry Avenaim, a celebrity photographer, mirroring language Musk used telling federal employees they had to send him a list of the things they had accomplished last week. Tesla has declined to comment publicly on the controversy.