Tesla is Toxic. Now what?

#TeslaTakedown had a big win this week.

This week’s newsletter is written by Evan Sutton.

In their first quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla updated its list of risk factors, saying that #TeslaTakedown protests “may harm our brand and our business (including sales) and make it more difficult to raise additional funds if needed.”

No shit.

A lot has happened in the two months since Melissa gave me space in this newsletter to argue that we needed to Make Tesla Toxic.

If there’s one thing I hope you’ll take away from this update, it’s that regular people can win if we’re willing to fight. On February 15, 2025, there were 49 #TeslaTakedown protests, mostly in the US.

Since then, there have been nearly 2,000, led by about 500 hosts in eighteen countries on four continents—including nearly 300 on the March 29 Global Day of Action alone.

I’ve been part of a lot of protest movements. I’ve never seen something like this. And it’s clear Donald and Elon understand the threat.

After our protests pushed Tesla’s share price down by 15% in a single day, Donald turned the South Lawn of the White House into a used car lot.

Next the MAGA Extended Universe tried to intimidate us (despite the FBI’s finding that there’s just no connection between protests and vandalism). The world’s richest “Free Speech Absolutist” even threatened to go after protestors for thought crimes.

None of it has worked. But you know what has? Protests.

When I wrote my first column, Tesla was valued at ~$1.1 trillion, and Musk’s personal stake was ~$145 billion.

Today, Tesla is worth ~$786 billion. Musk’s share? About ~$102 billion.

Tesla’s profits dropped 71% year-over-year, and the situation is even worse than it looks. Major firms downgraded the stock, and even Tesla’s biggest hype men on Wall Street say “the brand damage has been global.” Musk’s approval ratings are “falling through the floor,” and voters in Wisconsin told him where he could stick his ungodly pile of money.

On Tuesday’s investor call, a clearly despondent Musk tried to assuage investors by promising to focus more on Tesla.

None of this was inevitable. It happened because tens of thousands of people show up at their local Tesla showroom or supercharger station week after week.

This movement is kicking ass and taking names, but we haven’t won yet. Not by a long shot. Elon Musk is still the world’s richest man, and he’s made it clear that he’s not done messing with our democracy.

Tesla is still massively overvalued, based on nothing but Elon’s vaporware promises (you should really watch this Chris Hayes segment).

Tesla is still Musk’s only liquid asset, and the money he uses to assault our democracy is borrowed against his shares of Tesla.

We can’t stop until all of that changes. So what’s next?

On Thursday, #TeslaTakedown launched a new initiative to pressure cities and states to divest from Tesla and Musk’s companies.

Local organizers are expanding the field with creative actions like free Tesla de-badging stations, hilarious satire campaigns, pressuring Tesla board members and protesting at trade shows.

If you haven’t come out yet, please join us. There are around 150 actions every week, all over the United States (and Europe).

If there’s not one near you, create one! All you need is a place, a sign and a few friends.

According to #TeslaTakedown, nearly half of the people who have stepped up to host #TeslaTakedown actions have never organized before.

In Washington state, we protest at seven locations every week, some multiple days. At least four of our regular hosts had never organized before they joined this movement. Now, they have thriving groups of committed protestors who show up week in, week out.

I have a whole new network of friends locally. I’ve connected with hosts all over the country who share ideas and cheer each other on. Melissa sends me videos of her boys marching through the house carrying “signs” and chanting “hey hey, ho ho.”

I love making a difference for our democracy. I love making Elon Musk cry. But in my opinion, nothing is more important than the community we’re building at these protests.

The fascists want us to be isolated. The antidote to isolation is connection.

They want us to be lost in despair. The antidote to despair is action.

They want us to think they are powerful and we are weak. We are weak alone, but we have enormous power together.

Nobody is going to save us but ourselves. That used to scare me. Now I’m fucking stoked. Come join us.

Evan Sutton is the founder of Firekit Campaigns, a communications and digital firm that works with labor unions, Democratic candidates, and mission-aligned organizations. You can find more rants on his Bluesky.

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ICYMI

Her Husband Was Mistakenly Deported. Now She’s Caught in a Political Frenzy. (Washington Post)

“Jennifer Vasquez Sura said in an interview with The Washington Post that she began fearing for her safety and that of their three children — two of whom are autistic — after verbal attacks on her husband by President Donald Trump himself, as well as taunts on social media by administration officials and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.”

They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. (NYT)

“The New York Times found three users on X who feuded with Mr. Musk in December only to see their reach on the social platform practically vanish overnight. The accounts are the starkest signs yet that Mr. Musk or others at the company have the power to punish critics and that they may be willing to use it, startling free speech advocates who hoped that the billionaire would be their champion.”

​​DOGE Is Building a Master Database to Surveil and Track Immigrants (Wired)

“The scale at which DOGE is seeking to interconnect data, including sensitive biometric data, has never been done before, raising alarms with experts who fear it may lead to disastrous privacy violations for citizens, certified foreign workers, and undocumented immigrants.”

The Pushback Against Trump's Lawlessness is Real — and Making a Difference (Law Dork)

“The Trump administration is so clearly proceeding so dangerously and lawlessly in this case — with its implications for Abrego Garcia, all people in America, and the rule of law — and in other areas across the government (and those are just examples from Wednesday and Thursday) that people and institutions with substantial standing and even authority are starting to push back. And, importantly, we are seeing that it has effects.”

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Coda

Thanks so much to Evan for stepping in this week, and thanks to our paid subscribers and patrons whose financial support allows me to produce more content and work with guest writers like Evan. The newsletter will always be free to read as I’m passionate about making my content available to as wide of an audience as possible. But your contributions allow me to create more and devote more time to the newsletter each week. And I am so grateful for that continued support.

I’ll see you again next Sunday!