How Tesla’s Berkeley showroom became a ground zero for anti-Trump protests

Karen Friedman has spent four consecutive Saturdays outside the Tesla dealership on Fourth Street to protest what is happening to the U.S. government.

On March 22, the Berkeley resident held up a sign stating, “You’re Fired! Send Musk and Trump on a one-way ticket to live with Orban in Hungary’s hell.”

Other signs at the 200-person-strong demonstration conveyed similar sentiments. “Get Elon Out of Washington Now!” read one. “Tesla Chainsaw Massacre,” read another. A few read, “Deport Musk.”

As the Trump administration enters its third month and Elon Musk, put in charge of downsizing the government, pushes to eliminate agencies, longstanding programs and hundreds of thousands of federal workers, Berkeley residents are fighting back. Hundreds have shown up weekly since Feb. 14 to picket the Tesla dealership on Fourth Street, prompting it to close its doors every Saturday. Another group stands every Friday afternoon at the intersection of Ashby and College Avenues to decry the administration. 

The depth of Berkeley’s opposition to Trump’s agenda is no surprise. His opponent, Kamala Harris, who spent her early years in Berkeley, captured 88.2% of the vote, while Trump captured 5.1%.

Berkeley critics of Musk are joining others around the U.S. in not only picketing Tesla dealerships but also urging Tesla owners to boycott the company by selling their cars and their stock holdings and not buying new Teslas. 

While the majority of protests are peaceful, there has been some violence, which the Trump administration vows to treat harshly. Vandals have fired bullets into Tesla dealerships and set cars on fire. They have keyed and spraypainted Teslas on the street. Others have affixed derogatory stickers to them. One Trump supporter even allegedly fired a stun gun at Berkeley demonstrators. 

Trump said the vandals should be sent to the overcrowded El Salvador prisons where prisoners have reported being tortured and starved. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who recently described the attacks as “domestic terrorism,” said perpetrators could face up to 20 years in prison. This week, the FBI formed a task force to investigate vandalism at dealerships. 

As of yet, the protests haven’t persuaded Musk to reverse any of his positions. He remains a staunch supporter of President Trump and, after donating close to $300 million to his campaign, continues to pump money into Republican causes. Musk and his super PAC have contributed $19 million to help elect a conservative judge running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The PAC is also offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition in opposition to “activist judges,” a move meant to undermine the campaign of the liberal judicial candidate.

Still, the protests may be contributing to the woes affecting Tesla. New car sales have declined precipitously. Trade-ins to dealerships are at an all-time high. Cybertruck sales have been much lower than Musk had predicted. 

The Trump administration is actively working to improve Tesla sales, even though public officials are not supposed to use their positions for private gain. Lagging sales prompted Trump to turn a White House driveway into a mobile Tesla showroom on March 11. Trump called the cars “beautiful” and said on Truth Social that he would buy one. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said on Fox News on March 19 that people should buy Tesla’s stock because “it’ll never be this cheap again.” On Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported autos and foreign-made parts. That move helps Tesla, which is one of the most “American-made” cars on the market. Its stock had dropped more than 40% in recent weeks, going from a high of $479.86 on Dec. 17 to $272.06 on Wednesday. But it jumped more than $20 a share at one point on Thursday.

In Berkeley, protesters believe that undermining the wealth of the richest man in the world is the best way to stop him from cutting federal programs, and they have been encouraged that the demonstrations have gotten larger each week. The first Fourth Street protest, on Feb. 14, drew about 100 people; twice that number showed up on March 22. The regular protest on Friday afternoons at College and Ashby Avenues is also getting bigger. This coming Saturday has been dubbed a “global day of action,” and the group promoting the #TeslaTakedown said on Instagram that there will be protests at 277 dealerships in the U.S. and 500 around the world. “Turn out in numbers to fight Elon’s illegal coup,” the post reads.

Berkeley police have increased their presence at the protests in recent weeks, according to Officer Jessica Perry, a department spokesperson. 

Most of the demonstrators are on the older side and largely white. While some have been longtime activists, others told Berkeleyside the March 22 protest was the first time they had taken to the streets. 

Protesters holding handmade signs on Saturday. Credit: Tracey Taylor

“What can we do?” said Andi Jones of Berkeley, who has been protesting in front of the Fourth Street dealership every Saturday since Feb. 14. “The only thing we can do is hit him in the pocketbook. If Tesla stock drops too much, it hurts him. He cares what his stockholders think. It’s the only leverage we have over him.”

Friedman concurred. “What can we do to reduce the power of the richest man in the world?” she said. “Make him less rich.”

Others at the rally wanted to draw attention to how Trump is undermining U.S. democracy by bypassing Congress, deporting legal residents, and ignoring judicial orders.

“If he says, ‘I don’t care what the courts think,’ we have to take to the streets,” said Taly Rutenberg of Berkeley. “I don’t think we have any other option. I don’t know what good it is going to do, but I hope it galvanizes people and gives them a sense we can do something.”

Tesla vandal says now is the time for civil obedience

The increasing anti-Tesla sentiment has posed a problem for Tesla owners, many of whom bought the electric cars out of concern for the environment. Some feel self-conscious driving their cars. (One man driving a Rivian truck past the demonstration had a sign in the window reading: Sold my Tesla). Others are concerned their cars will be vandalized. 

Berkeley police report there have been 13 cases of vandalism against Teslas in recent weeks.

On March 20, a person posted a video on X that shows an older woman keying a gray Tesla in what the poster said was the parking lot of the Claremont Resort and Spa, which straddles Berkeley and Oakland. On March 27, an account posted a video of a man spray painting a cybertruck on March 23 at California and Stuart Streets. (Neither of these videos have been verified).

One woman at the demonstration, who asked not to be named, said she was a Tesla vandal, although she characterized her actions as “doing civil disobedience without being harmful to car owners.” She has printed out images of Musk doing the Nazi salute which she affixes with Elmer’s glue to newer Teslas. The stickers can be removed, she said. She has attached the stickers to more than 20 Teslas, including some parked in the Tesla lot on Fourth Street.

“We are under Nazi attack now,” she said, referring to the actions of Trump and Musk. “It’s as if planes are flying overhead. Civil disobedience is appropriate at this time.”

The majority of Tesla owners are well-to-do Democrats and the party is not pushing back hard enough at Trump, she said. She hopes the stickers make people realize the situation is so dire there might not even be midterm elections. Everyone has to act, she said.

Retired professor who confronted stun gun-wielding Trump supporter becomes folk hero

The anti-Trump and anti-Musk protests have drawn the ire of some Trump supporters, including of Ricardo Ruiz, who goes by Rick Fuze and DJ Occult. He was arrested by Berkeley police on March 22 when he came to the Fourth Street rally on his e-bike for at least the second week in a row, blasting music. When protesters surrounded his bike, Ruiz pulled out a stun gun and thrust it near people’s faces, activating the weapon, though the electric pulses did not make contact. Retired UCSF Professor Susan Kegeles, who lives in Berkeley, pulled his hair and forced Ruiz off his bike. Another protester grabbed his arms. Police cited Ruiz for allegedly brandishing a weapon. 

The day after his arrest, Ruiz insisted he had pulled the stun gun out to protect himself. He predicted the charges would be dropped, just as they were after he pepper sprayed people at a Feb. 14 Where Do We Go Berkeley protest in Civic Center Park. 

Kegeles has become somewhat of a folk hero after a video of her action was posted online (and on Berkeleyside). 

“Baddie of the year,” one person posted on Reddit. “Lets nominate Old Lady Who Pulls Violent Fascists Off Their Bikes for president,” wrote another. “That lady is the energy the Democrat party needs,” said a third.

“When he tried to hurt me I wasn’t going to wait around,” Kegeles told Berkeleyside. “I was going to do what I could do to take him down.”