THE Tesla show-room in Winchester saw a demonstration on Saturday, March 29, as protesters across the country.
A day of 'Tesla takedown' gatherings saw over 500 protests at Elon Musk’s showrooms around the world.
"It was good to hear so many of the passing drivers hooting their support," said one of the demonstrators at the showroom in Winnall.
Another protester, who asked not to be named, said Tesla Takedown is all about peaceful, legal protest.
READ MORE: Anti-Musk protesters aiming to ‘take down Tesla’ gather outside dealerships
She said: "There are lots of peaceful, legal ways to help. Don’t buy a Tesla. If you already have a Tesla, sell it. If you have a different EV, don’t use Tesla chargers. If you have Tesla stock, sell it. If you use Uber, tell them you don’t want to be seen in a Tesla."
The movement was born as a result of what many see as Elon Musk's unsavoury political stances, including his involvement with the Trump administration.
The biggest portion of Mr Musk’s estimated 340 billion US dollar fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Mr Trump.
After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the carmaker’s showrooms and service centres in the US in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.
By early afternoon, crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the carmaker’s home state of Texas.
Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as “Honk if you hate Elon” and “Fight the billionaire broligarchy.”
As the day progressed, the protests cascaded around the country outside Tesla locations in major cities such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller groups of counter protesters also showed up at some sites.
At a protest in Berkely, California, Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from Oakland, said: “We’re living in a fascist state and we need to stop this or we’ll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.”
SEE ALSO: Elon Musk sells X to his own xAI for 33 billion dollars in all-stock deal
The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe were not as large, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.
A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Mr Musk took over Doge have been looking to sell or trade them in, while others have slapped on bumper stickers seeking to distance themselves from him.
But Mr Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.”
He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel
You must verify your phone number before you can comment.
Please enter your phone number below, and a verification code will be sent to you by text message.
Please enter the six-digit verification code sent to you by SMS.
Your verification code has been sent a second time to the mobile phone number you provided.
Your verification code has been sent a third time to the mobile phone number you provided.
You have requested your verification code too many times. Please try again later.
Didn’t receive a code? Send it againThe code you entered has not been recognised.
Please try again
You have failed to enter a correct code after three attempts.
Please try again later.
Your phone number has been verified.
Your phone number has been stored with your account details. We will never use it for anything other than verifying that you are the legitimate owner of this account.