Protests continue at Tesla dealerships months after Musk's exit from Trump team

Five months after Elon Musk's departure from US President Donald Trump's administration, weekly protests continue outside Tesla dealerships across the country.

What began as the "Tesla Takedown" has since been renamed the "Trump Regime Takedown", or "TRT" for short.

The demonstrations, usually held on Saturdays, draw activists carrying signs in support of democracy, human rights, healthcare, and education.

Others wave flags of Mexico, Palestine, Ukraine, the pride flag, or the upside-down American flag, a traditional signal of distress. Protesters use bells, whistles, and bullhorns to capture the attention of passing traffic.

The gatherings also provide space for creativity. At a recent protest, one woman stood in the middle of the street with a sign that read: "Honk if you’re not in the Epstein Files".

Connie Jeung-Mills, an activist with the anti-Trump movement Indivisible, has become a familiar face at the San Francisco demonstrations. Standing on the median of Van Ness Avenue outside the Tesla dealership, whistle in hand, she explained why she keeps coming back.

"I have been coming out here since March, every week that I’ve been able to come," she told The New Arab.

"Attendance started dwindling when people started feeling like Elon had left the government, and Tesla’s stock is down. I and a few active protesters here decided to revive it and rename it to the Trump Regime Takedown. We call it TRT for short," she said.

Anti-Trump demonstrations have multiplied since the president began his second term in January, sometimes with several rallies in the same city on the same day.

The website Data in Defence of Democracy has tracked at least 1,885 anti-Trump protests during this period, though the figure does not account for smaller events like the Tesla dealership vigils or near-daily demonstrations at ICE offices and immigration courts.

For many, the weekly gatherings are as much about community as politics.

"I've been coming here for several months," said David Lee, a school employee holding a cowbell. "It's important to learn things, to know what's going on in society. Cars are honking. They feel like they’re in the community."

For protester Jeung-Mills, the message is clear.

"It's not just about Elon. It’s not just about Tesla," she said. "It's about refusing to be complicit in what happens with this administration. Every time people see us out here, they know there are still people fighting."