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      Trump makes rare admission of Musk’s conflicts of interest after Pentagon visit

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      Donald Trump said on Friday that plans for possible war with China should not be shared with Elon Musk because of his business interests, a rare admission that the billionaire faces conflicts of interests in his role as a senior adviser to the US president.Trump rejected reports that Musk would be briefed on how the United States would fight a hypothetical war with China, saying: “Elon has businesses in China. And he would be susceptible, perhaps, to that.”The reference to Musk’s businesses – which include Tesla, an electric vehicle manufacturer trying to expand sales and production in China – is an unusual acknowledgment of concerns about Musk balancing his corporate and government responsibilities.Trump had previously brushed off questions about Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, simply saying that he would steer clear when necessary.The president said that Musk visited the Pentagon on Friday morning to discuss reducing costs, which he has been working on through the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge).The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said Musk was there “to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations”.Musk said while leaving the Pentagon that he was ready to do “anything that could be helpful”. He also refused to answer questions as to whether he received a classified briefing on China as part of the visit.As a key adviser to Trump and the head of Doge, Musk has exercised broad powers in the two months since Trump returned to the White House, conducting mass layoffs and slashing budgets across the federal government. But while the Pentagon was also in line to be a target for job cuts, Musk has yet to play any role there, including in defense intelligence and military operations.A senior defense official told reporters on Tuesday that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs would be cut in the defense department.Musk’s involvement in any US plans or dealings with China would raise not only security concerns but questions over a significant conflict of interest, as he has considerable economic interests in China as the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, which also has contracts with the US air force.In the early hours of Friday morning, Musk denied the reports that he would be briefed on war with China, calling it “pure propaganda” and threatening to find those who leaked the information.“I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information,” he wrote. “They will be found.”Musk repeated his demand for such prosecutions upon arrival at the Department of Defense on the outskirts of Washington DC on Friday morning. He left the Pentagon about 90 minutes after arriving.A Pentagon spokesperson, asked by email to explain the true purpose of Musk’s briefing given administration denials that it would involve putative war plans with China, referred the Guardian to a statement posted on social media by Hegseth.In a Friday meeting at the White House to announce new air force fighter planes, Trump and Hegseth both firmly rejected reports that Musk was shown any Pentagon plans regarding a potential conflict with China during his visit earlier that day.“They made that up because it’s a good story to make up. They’re very dishonest people,” Trump said about the New York Times reporting. “I called up Pete [Hegseth] and I said: ‘Is there any truth to that?’ Absolutely not, he’s there for Doge, not there for China. And if you ever mentioned China, I think he’d walk out of the room.”Hegseth echoed Trump’s notion that the visit was focused on discussing government efficiency initiatives and innovation opportunities, adding that there were “no Chinese war plans”.“We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about [the ‘department of government efficiency’], to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations. It was a great informal conversation,” he said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHegseth suggested the reporting was deliberately intended to “undermine whatever relationship the Pentagon has with” the Tesla CEO.However, some military experts have still expressed concern about Musk’s level of access to sensitive information.Wesley Clark, retired general and former Nato supreme commander, told CNN in an interview on Friday afternoon that the administration has been “cutting a lot of corners in a lot of areas”.“It’s no problem giving him a general impression, we do this for contractors, but the conflict of interest – I’m more interested in his interests abroad, he talks to Putin, he has business in China, he has other considerations and those can impact things,” Clark said.“I’m more worried about Elon Musk coming into the Pentagon and saying ‘I’m high tech and I have smart people in Silicon Valley and these generals do not know anything’. You have got to be really careful about jumping on the next shiny object.”According to a New York Times report, the meeting was set to take place not in Hegseth’s office, where informal meetings about innovation would normally take place, but in a secure conference room known as “the Tank”, which is typically used for higher-level meetings. Musk was to be briefed on a plan that contains 20 to 30 slides and details how the US military would fight a conflict with China.Officials who spoke anonymously with the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal offered up potential reasons why Musk was receiving the briefing. The Times suggested that Musk, in his Doge capacity, might be looking into trimming the Pentagon’s budget and would need to know what military assets the US would use in a potential conflict with China.One source told the Journal that Musk was receiving the briefing because he asked for one.Though Musk has a “top-secret” clearance within the federal government, lawyers at SpaceX advised him in December not to seek higher levels of security clearances, which would probably be denied due to his foreign ties and personal drug use.The Associated Press contributed reporting More

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      ‘Tesla is a good target’: Elon Musk’s car business is focus of fury for political role

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      Hundreds of people protested at Tesla dealerships across the US over the weekend, as the backlash against Elon Musk and the Trump administration continued despite a warning from the attorney general that the government would be “coming after” protesters.The protests, in cities including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and New York, have come as Musk has seen his net worth plunge and the sales of Teslas plummet in Europe. In Brooklyn, New York, about 50 people gathered outside a Tesla showroom on Saturday afternoon to loudly make their displeasure clear, the fourth such protest in the last four weeks.Other anti-Tesla actions have seen bullets fired through a dealership window and molotov cocktails thrown at a charging station. But this was a rather more genteel protest, as evidenced by the signs on show. “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,” read one, channeling a poem by the American poet James Russell Lowell.One banner said: “Musk is too brusque,” another: “Very uncool.” One sign, however, offered a more prosaic example of the anger on display, riffing on a Dead Kennedys song: “Nazi trucks fuck off.”As protesters chanted: “Hands off our data,” and “Arrest Elon Musk,” there certainly seemed to be plenty of support from passersby. People in cars and trucks repeatedly blasted their horns – including, at one point, a man driving a Tesla.“This is probably the most consequential moment in US history since, I don’t know, the civil war. I don’t know what to liken it to, but we’re on a precipice, and so I can’t actually concentrate on anything right now except protesting,” said Kirsten Hassenfeld, a 53-year-old artist and editor who lives in Brooklyn.“I think there are people that haven’t woken up to this yet, but I think that we’re sliding into a full-on authoritarian state. I’m terrified,” she said.Musk has witnessed a mass sell-off of Teslas in recent weeks, in protest against his unprecedented intrusion into the US government through the so-called “department of government efficiency”. Sales of new vehicles have declined around the world, with February sales in Australia down about 72% compared with the same month in 2024; in Germany sales were down 76% for the same period, while Tesla’s stock price has lost almost half its value since December.As protests have grown, the White House has rallied round Musk. Last week Donald Trump claimed the boycott was “illegal”, while Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said on Friday she would launch an investigation into vandalism against Tesla vehicles and showrooms.“If you’re going to touch a Tesla, go to a dealership, do anything, you better watch out because we’re coming after you. And if you’re funding this, we’re coming after you. We’re going to find out who you are,” Bondi told Fox Business.In Brooklyn, people were apparently undeterred by the threat. Teslas driving past the protest were treated to a volley of boos, and lusty chants of “Sell your Tesla”. The demonstration certainly appeared to have restricted the number of people entering the dealership: the Guardian counted three customers in the space of an hour and a half.Donna C, who asked not to give her last name, said it was her fourth time protesting at that dealership.“It’s important for me because Elon Musk has carte blanche to destroy our country, destroy our democracy, destroy the institutions that millions of New Yorkers and millions of Americans rely on. Donald Trump has allowed him to buy his way into the government with hundreds of millions of dollars of contributions,” Donna said.“I think what these protests are doing is opening the eyes of Americans in their millions across the US to what is actually going on,” she said. “My parents grew up in fascism in Italy under Mussolini. I’ve seen what can happen. We know the history, the same steps are being taken.”Nearly 20 Tesla showrooms and charging stations have seen deliberate fires set over the past few weeks, while dozens of owners have had their cars variously egged, used as receptacles for dog feces, or coated with Kraft cheese singles. The protests on Saturday seem to have largely remained calm, however, despite the anger of those attending.“I’ve been pissed off and furious for a while, and a friend of mine told me, ‘If you want to come and scream and shout at Tesla, then show up on Saturday,’” said Yedon Thonden, 57.“Tesla is a good target. You know, their stock prices are sinking. Their leadership is cashing out their investments. And I think Elon is obviously worried about his company,” she said.“I think that this administration is going to realize pretty quickly that the economy is tanking. So the more we can highlight that, the better.” More

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      Elon Musk faces week of harsh setbacks amid Tesla selloff and Doge backlash

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      Elon Musk began the week of 10 March with a friendly sit-down interview on Fox Business to talk about his work with the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) and the state of his businesses. Already, it had been a trying few days for the world’s richest man, who was facing a Tesla stock selloff and fierce backlash over his attempts to radically overhaul the federal government. His net worth declined over $22bn on Monday alone.After Musk jokingly brushed off initial questions about the mounting pressure, host Larry Kudlow asked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO how he was managing to run his numerous companies amid the chaos.“With great difficulty,” Musk answered, at first chuckling then taking a long sigh and staring off into the middle distance. “I mean … yeah”.The past 10 days have marked several of the most significant setbacks for Musk in months. Tesla, arguably his marquee company, continued to fall in value as investors worried about the threat of trade war and possible recession – as well as declining profits. Escalating protests against the company over the billionaire’s role in the government also grew in number and intensity across the US, coupled with rising cases of vandalism and social stigma against his cars. SpaceX has also struggled, with one of its rockets dramatically exploding in midflight last week and then an announcement on Wednesday that it was delaying a rescue mission to retrieve “stranded” astronauts. The company tried again two days later.Adding to Musk’s headaches, his social media platform, X, experienced widespread outages throughout the day on Monday. During his Fox Business interview, he claimed that it was the result of a “massive cyberattack” that the company had traced to the area of Ukraine.Musk is also dealing with increasing pushback over his role at Doge. Multiple outlets reported that the “first buddy”, as he’s christened himself, got into a heated exchange with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, during a White House meeting last week, which ended with Donald Trump appearing to rein in Musk’s power to make staffing decisions at government agencies with a Truth social post. A federal judge in California also issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday to reinstate thousands of the workers that Doge mass fired. Meanwhile, polling this week from Quinnipiac University shows that despite Musk repeatedly declaring that the public loves what Doge is doing, a strong majority of people disapprove of his initiative.After a long string of victories for Musk that included soaring share prices and a period of seemingly unchecked power following Trump’s inauguration, some signs of strain are beginning to show on his grip on his empire. He has lost around $119bn this year so far, although staggeringly still boasts a fortune $100bn greater than the next richest man in the world, and faces questions from investors on whether his political activity is hurting his companies.Rather than step away from his role in the White House, however, Musk appears to be doubling down.Musk turns to Maga world to turn Tesla’s fortunes aroundTwo days after his labored appearance on Fox Business, Musk was once again in front of the cameras. This time, he was smiling alongside Trump on the White House lawn as the president cooed over a new red Tesla Model S and gushed to reporters about what a wonderful car it was.“Everything is computer,” Trump said, sitting in the driver’s seat. “That’s beautiful!”At the climax of the transformation of the White House into a car dealership, Trump announced that he had bought the Model S. He likewise spoke out in support of Musk and told reporters that Americans should “cherish” the billionaire. Others in the Maga world soon followed suit, declaring their backing for Tesla and urging their followers to do the same.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“I just ordered my new self driving Tesla!” Fox News host Sean Hannity posted the same day on X. “Details on how to win the Tesla of your Choice soon on Hannity.com!”The scene at the White House was a striking use of the presidency to endorse the business of the commander-in-chief’s biggest financial backer. However, the display also gave the impression that Musk needed Trump to reverse his string of losses and quell the backlash against him. Trump stated at the event that he would label demonstrations against Tesla showrooms as domestic terrorism. Attorney general Pam Bondi announced on Friday she would launch an investigation into vandalism targeting the company.“They fought the law and the law won,” Musk posted on X above news that Bondi was threatening vandals with up to 20 years in prison for attacking Tesla dealerships.The backlash against Tesla does not appear to be slowing; more protests against Tesla are set for the coming week. In response, Musk is deepening his embrace with the Maga world, including its most distasteful denizens. He spent a sizable part of Friday afternoon posting support for Tesla and Doge from rightwing media influencer accounts and Fox News clips. At one point, he retweeted a post that compared attacks against Tesla vehicles and dealerships to Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi pogrom against Jewish-owned businesses that took place at the onset of the Holocaust. More

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      Notable Tesla investor says he hopes Musk’s government role is ‘short-lived’

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      A devoted investor in Elon Musk’s Tesla – and once a close childhood friend of the US president’s eldest son and namesake – says he hopes the world’s richest man’s role in cutting federal spending for Donald Trump’s administration is “short-lived” and that he returns to managing his businesses.Investment manager Christopher Tsai, whose firm has tens of millions of dollars tied up in Tesla, said the stock market had demonstrated clear signs of displeasure with Musk’s activities at the so-called department of government efficiency. And, in an interview with the Guardian, Tsai said: “I hope his involvement with [Doge] is short-lived so he can spend even more time on his businesses.”The chief investment officer and president of Tsai Capital, which reportedly manages a portfolio of about $137m, made it a point to say that his stated hope does not constitute a loss of faith in Musk or his company’s earning potential, despite opinion polls establishing the Tesla boss’s unpopularity with the American public and his net worth evidently tumbling about $23bn in recent days.Tsai said the stock markets also reacted negatively when Musk bought Twitter, the social media platform now known as X, in 2022 for $44bn. Yet he said Tsai Capital – which holds about 75,000 shares in Tesla as of its most recent quarterly filings – had made more than six times its money since first investing in the company in February 2020, even with the downturn in performance of late.Tsai recently told his investors in a letter that his firm considers Tesla to be more of a creator of advanced electronics and software that it attaches to cars rather than a traditional automotive manufacturer and he insisted that the EV maker remained “on a path to become one of the most valuable companies on the planet”.Nonetheless, he said “the market … reacting unfavorably to Elon Musk’s recent involvement in politics” was real. And though he said he thought Musk’s self-professed belief that government reforms are needed is genuine, Tsai expressed a hope that the Tesla boss’s role in Doge ultimately proved to be like other temporary commitments he had previously taken on.Tsai’s comments on what is his firm’s largest holding come at a time when Musk – who prominently supported Trump’s successful run for a second presidency – has advised the White House on the widespread firings of government employees and the dismantling of various services. Those services include US humanitarian aid and development work, with experts warning that their elimination could have life-threatening consequences.If a CNN poll conducted by the research firm SSRS is any indication, such measures have not gone over well with the public. The survey showed 53% of Americans disapproved of Musk, and 35% approved – leaving him about 18 points underwater.Those results were released on Wednesday, two days after Tesla’s stock fell more than 15% amid public protests against the company and vandalism reported at some of the brand’s dealerships.Tsai’s descent from a lineage of legendary investors sets his voice apart from some of the others who have weighed in on Musk, Doge and Tesla at the two-month mark of the second Trump presidency.His paternal grandmother was Ruth Tsai, who became the first woman to trade on the floor of the stock exchange in Shanghai, China, in 1939 during the second world war. Her earnings helped her send her son – Tsai’s late father, Gerald – to college in the US, where he ultimately settled and made a name for himself as a financier and fund manager.Gerald Tsai Jr also eventually became the chief executive officer of the financial services giant Primerica, which – along with its subsidiary Commercial Credit Group – helped build Citigroup, as the New York Times has reported.A notable aspect of Tsai’s trajectory was his father’s acquaintance with Trump when the latter was primarily a real estate mogul in Manhattan. The families were close enough that, in his youth, Tsai considered Donald Trump Jr his best friend, vacationing with him and once going to a baseball game with his siblings, their mother and their father.Tsai said the younger Trump was one of the first people to whom he came out as a gay man, doing so before he did to Gerald. “That’s cool,” Tsai recalled Trump Jr telling him, while he said Gerald took a longer time to accept it.A registered Democrat, Tsai said he had not had “a meaningful conversation with any member of” the president’s family since a lunch with Donald Jr in January 2014 – more than two years before Trump Sr clinched the Republican White House nomination and won his first presidency. Tsai said they just “went in different directions” as the Trumps moved into politics, and their family patriarch aligned himself closely with Musk as he clinched the White House a second time in November’s election.Meanwhile, the elder Tsai, who married and divorced four times and once survived crashing in a helicopter into New York’s Hudson River before his death in 2008, did not pass on much of his larger-than-life personality to Christopher.The younger Tsai for instance has been married to his spouse – with whom he is raising teenaged twins – since 2005.But, as Christopher put it, Gerald Tsai Jr did teach him to learn about – and love – trading stocks in his childhood. He began investing at 12 and started his capital firm in 1997 at age 22.Tsai said some of the principles to which he adheres – whether as a philanthropic donor to artistic as well as environmental causes – were inherited from the first Chinese American to be CEO of a Dow Jones Industrial company.“My father would say you have to do deep work in order to figure out where value is and to uncover great situations,” Tsai said. “Our job as investors is to figure out what’s real, what’s not real, what that’s worth, what’s priced into the stock and where the company’s valuation is going.” More

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      Democratic Senator Mark Kelly to let go of his Tesla over Musk’s federal cuts

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      The Arizona Democratic senator Mark Kelly announced he was ditching his Tesla car, because of brand owner Elon Musk’s role in slashing federal budgets and staffing and attendant threats to social benefits programs.“Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country,” Kelly said, in video posted to X, the social media platform owned by Musk.Kelly also said he did not want to be “driving the car built and designed by an asshole”.Kelly and Musk first clashed recently after Musk responded to messages Kelly posted about a trip to Ukraine – criticizing Trump regarding military aid to Ukraine troops as they fight against Russian invaders – by calling him a “traitor”.Kelly called Musk “not a serious guy” and added: “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”Musk is the world’s richest person but his focus is currently domestic, implementing brutal cuts through the so-called department of government efficiency, or Doge.Polling shows such cuts are unpopular. Musk’s move into politics has also had an adverse effect on some of his businesses, in the case of Tesla prompting boycotts and vandalism and seeing sales and shares fall. Earlier this week, it all led Trump to promote Teslas at the White House.On Friday, Kelly joined Americans including the singer Sheryl Crow in dumping his Tesla, alluding to his past as a Nasa astronaut by saying: “I bought a Tesla because it was fast like a rocket ship. But now every time I drive it, I feel like a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people. So Tesla, you’re fired!”In video shot near the Capitol, Kelly said he was driving to work in the car for the last time.View image in fullscreen“When I bought this thing,” he said. “I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump [are] doing to our country, talking about slashing social security, cutting healthcare benefits for poor people, for seniors. It’s one bad thing after the next. [Musk is] firing veterans. I’m a veteran.”Kelly is also a former US navy pilot.“So I have a really hard time driving around in this thing,” he continued. “So I think it’s time for an upgrade today. So this is going to be my last trip in this car. There’s some things I really liked about it. There are things I didn’t like about it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is … doing the right thing. I think it’s time to get rid of it.“You know, Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole, and I don’t want to be driving the car built and designed by an asshole. So, looking forward to my new ride.”Kelly’s language reflected a trend of Democrats using profane language in an attempt to better communicate with voters, particularly on social platforms and podcasts, seeking to bypass traditional media.Lis Smith, a Democratic operative famous for her own F-bombs, told Politico: “Some of it is genuine, some of it is people trying to seem faux-edgy authentic.”On Friday, Musk did not immediately respond to Kelly. He did post complaints about vandalism done to Teslas and Tesla stores, one of which compared such actions to Kristallnacht, the “Night of the Broken Glass” in 1938 when Nazis in Germany attacked Jewish people and businesses.Musk remains the subject of controversy over his behavior at Trump’s inauguration, when he gave two Nazi-style salutes. More

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      Tesla tells US government Trump trade war could ‘harm’ EV companies

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      Elon Musk’s Tesla has warned that Donald Trump’s trade war could expose the electric carmaker to retaliatory tariffs that would also impact other automotive manufacturers in the US.In an unsigned letter to Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, Tesla said that it “supports fair trade” but that the US administration should ensure that it did not “inadvertently harm US companies”.Tesla said in the letter: “As a US manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices.”The company, led by Musk, a close ally of Trump who is leading efforts to downsize the federal government, said it wanted to avoid a similar impact to previous trade disputes which resulted in increased tariffs on electric vehicles imported into countries targeted by the US.Tesla said: “US exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to US trade actions. The assessment undertaken by USTR of potential actions to rectify unfair trade should also take into account exports from the United States.“For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on electric vehicles imported into those countries.”Trump has imposed significant tariffs that will affect vehicles and parts made around the world.The EU and Canada have announced large-scale retaliations for tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the US, while the UK has so far held off on announcing any countermeasures.Tesla’s share price has fallen by more than a third over the last month over concerns about a potential buyer backlash against Musk, who has shown support for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, theatrically brandished a chainsaw at a conservative conference, and accused Keir Starmer and other senior politicians of covering up a scandal over grooming gangs.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThis week Trump said said he was buying a “brand new Tesla” and blamed “radical left lunatics” for “illegally” boycotting the EV company – a day after Tesla’s worst share price fall in nearly five years.Tesla said: “As USTR continues to evaluate possible trade actions to rectify unfair trade practices, consideration should also be given to the timeline of implementation. US companies will benefit from a phased approach that enables them to prepare accordingly and ensure appropriate supply chain and compliance measures are taken.” More

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      Elon Musk targeted me over Tesla protests. That proves our movement is working

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      On Saturday morning, I woke up to a nightmare of notifications. On Sunday, it got worse. Elon Musk had tweeted and amplified inflammatory lies about me and Tesla Takedown, a growing national grassroots movement peacefully protesting at Tesla showrooms that I’m proudly a part of. Musk tweeted: “Costa is committing crimes.”As a longtime local activist and organizer in Seattle, I’m accustomed to some conflict with powerful forces. The intention of the Tesla Takedown movement is to make a strong public stand against the tech oligarchy behind the Trump administration’s cruel and illegal actions, and to encourage Americans to sell their Teslas and dump the company’s stock. Protests like these – peaceful, locally organized, and spreading across the world – are at the heart of free speech in a democracy and a cornerstone of US political traditions. So it’s telling that the response from so-called “free speech absolutist” Musk has been to single out individuals – and spread lies about us and our movement. The harassment that’s followed his post has been frightening.It’s also proof that the Tesla Takedown campaign is working.I’d like to address the lies spread about me by the world’s richest man and X users. I have not committed any crimes. I have not been funded by ActBlue, or by George Soros – that name is simply a tired antisemitic dog whistle. I’m not inspired by Luigi Mangione nor have I ever said that I am. I am not encouraging any vandalism. Nobody is getting paid to come to these protests. I am not the leader of Tesla Takedown. In fact, no one is.Here is the truth: Tesla Takedown is a completely decentralized movement with hundreds of protests taking place around the globe, drawing many thousands of people out of their homes and on to the public sidewalks to stand up for programs that support poor people, older people, veterans, the sick. Out of care and concern for others – a foreign concept to those currently in power – people are offering what they can to help. I’ve offered to schlep supplies, and helped someone find a bullhorn. The environmentally focused Seattle organization I’m a part of, Troublemakers, hosts a map where other people and groups can post the locations of forthcoming demonstrations. Troublemakers has about $3,500 in its bank accounts. All of this is a bare-bones, low-budget, people-powered movement – which is exactly why Musk is afraid of it, and casting about to find a villain.There are currently 91 Tesla Takedown protests planned across the world this coming weekend, and there will be more the weekend after that. If there isn’t one at the Tesla showroom nearest you, you can start one just by showing up with some friends or family, maybe making some cardboard signs. This exercise of our fundamental first amendment right to peaceably assemble is giving an effective outlet to the outrage this administration has caused here and around the globe, and we’re making a difference. Tesla stock has fallen precipitously, losing a quarter of its value in the months since the protests began. On Wednesday, JP Morgan analysts told Quartz: “We struggle to think of anything analogous in the history of the automotive industry, in which a brand has lost so much value so quickly.” Donald Trump even got on X this week to defensively claim that he’ll be buying a Tesla to support his good friend Musk. More and more people are unloading the company’s stock and selling their cars. The movement is growing and the administration is taking notice. When enough of us come together to do what we can, this is what effective opposition can be.Musk’s false accusations against me won’t stop this movement, because he is inflicting real harm on the American public and people around the world. In fact, Musk and Trump are the ones committing crimes. Just this week they have announced their intentions to slash social security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and food stamps. They are gutting public institutions, stripping environmental protections, destabilizing the economy and people’s lives. Musk is openly and gleefully firing federal workers en masse and dismantling programs that serve millions at home and across the globe. They’ve ignored multiple judicial orders, and refused to restart payments that they were ordered to. The unofficial agency Musk leads, the “department of government efficiency”, is digging into systems and pushing out public servants, when its own staff hasn’t received so much as a background check. Musk’s conflicts of interest are piling up without any disclosures. All of the programs this administration is destroying are paid for by people like you and me through our taxes. Tesla – a billion-dollar company – shelled out zero income tax last year. Justice through government processes will be slow, if it comes at all.If we can’t show our opposition to what the government is doing, we are living in a dictatorship. If we are criminalized for calling out the rich and powerful for their illegal actions, that is a dictatorship. I don’t want to live in a dictatorship.Make no mistake, it’s scary to be personally called out by the richest man in the world on the platform he owns. It’s scary to be targeted by a seemingly endless number of his devoted trolls and bots. To be doxxed, to have one’s life pored over and exposed, to be smeared, attacked, and falsely accused. It’s scarier still when the FBI director gets tagged into the threads and asked to investigate. But I’m not backing down – and even if I did, it wouldn’t make a dent in this movement. Hundreds if not thousands of people have participated in the ways that I have.The truth is, the people are powerful. I’ve always believed that. And now we know that Elon Musk does too.

      Valerie Costa is the co-founder of Troublemakers and a longtime activist for environmental justice More