‘Astroturf’: Critics speculate Tesla protests are not a grassroots movement, but
Protests unfolded outside of Tesla showrooms across the country this weekend over Elon Musk’s role helping lead President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, sparking questions to fly as to who is funding the purported “grassroots” demonstrations.
“Who is funding and organizing all these paid protests?” Musk posted to X early Sunday morning, accompanied by a video clip of podcast host Joe Rogan discussing left-wing protests in recent days.
A “Tesla Takedown” movement formed in recent days, with more than 200 protests planned on Saturday in the U.S., and another few hundred planned protests in Canada and Europe as part of the “global day of action.” In the U.S. the protests slated for Saturday were promoted by actors, filmmakers, congressional legislators, academics and activists who led a “mass mobilizing call” last week to rally support, and described in the media as a “grassroots” effort to buck Musk and Trump, while working to tank Tesla’s stock.
Tesla locations have faced violence in recent weeks as Musk and his DOGE team investigate federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and mismanagement, while critics accuse the Trump administration of creating an “oligarchy” by tapping the billionaire to help streamline federal government operations.
DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group will be dissolved on July 4, 2026.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduces the Cybertruck at Tesla’s design studio on Nov. 21, 2019, in Hawthorne, California. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The protests on Saturday were billed as “nonviolent” and showcased people line dancing outside Teslas stores while holding anti-swastika and anti-Musk signs. Others protested for a couple of hours outside of Tesla dealerships, local media outlets reported, with some holding signs reading “DON’T BUY SWASTICAR,” or “Nobody elected Elon.”
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The U.S. protests on Saturday stretched from New York to Maryland to Texas to California. Many of the rallies saw dozens of protesters, while larger protests, such as one in Chicago, drew crowds of over 100 people, and another in New York drew hundreds of protesters, various media reports show.
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“Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property. This protest is a lawful exercise of our First Amendment right to peaceful assembly,” the Action Network, a left-wing advocacy group, described the nationwide protests online.
Weekly demonstrations continue outside of Tesla stores to protest Elon Musk and his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, March 29, 2025, in the West Village neighborhood of New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
“Rally attenders must be peaceful and nonviolent,” another left-wing group, Indivisible, described a protest in New Jersey, which included directions on what to chant at passersby. “No vandalism of Tesla cars or stores; or insults of Tesla drivers permitted! When Tesla drivers pass we will chant, ‘Sell your Tesla, Trade it in! instead of booing. STAY OFF THE ROADWAY! It is legal for protesters to be on the sidewalk but NOT to be on the roadway or block entrances to businesses, including Tesla. STAY OFF TESLA PROPERTY! We are not allowed on any private property. Indivisible policy forbids engaging with counter protesters (and other protestors) this is for the safety of all people.”
A local news outlet, media personalities and conservative critics have speculated that the recent anti-Tesla protests are embroiled in “astroturfing,” which is defined by Merriam-Webster as a campaign “falsely made to appear grassroots.”
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Protesters rally outside a Tesla showroom in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I know when something is AstroTurf. Fun fact: I was among the first reporters (if not first) to put the concept of ‘Astro Turf’ lobbying into the pages of the Wall Street Journal as an international trade reporter,” former Wall Street Journal correspondent Asra Nomani posted to X after reporting on a Tesla protest last Saturday in Tysons, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.
“While local #TeslaTakedown protests may appear spontaneous and community-driven, they are the product of well-funded, tightly coordinated campaigns led by…
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