Angry Protesters Shatter A Tesla In 'Everyone Dislikes Elon' Demonstration | Carscoops

      Campaigners opposing Musk and Tesla aim to undermine the electric vehicle manufacturer’s sales and lower its stock price.

      7 hours ago

      by Brad Anderson

      Protesters in the UK destroyed a donated Tesla Model S to express their discontent with Elon Musk’s rising influence.

      The campaign titled “Everyone Hates Elon” has gained traction on social media.

      Advertisements mocking Musk and Tesla have appeared at bus stops featuring provocative political messages.

      Public sentiment towards Elon Musk is not particularly positive at the moment, and this dissatisfaction extends beyond the United States. In the UK, opposition to Tesla and its prominent CEO is on the rise.

      Recently, a group named “Everyone Hates Elon” held an event during which a 2014 Tesla Model S was deliberately smashed in what they termed both a protest and a live art installation. This event is part of a larger campaign against Musk that is becoming increasingly visible.

      The black Model S was supplied by an anonymous donor and displayed at Hardess Studios in south London. Attendees expressed their frustrations by smashing the electric vehicle with sledgehammers and baseball bats. What began as a perfectly functional Tesla now resembled a vehicle that had been through a catastrophic accident, with every single body panel destroyed.

      The Everyone Hates Elon group has gained momentum via social media and has drawn attention with attention-grabbing materials, including stickers that say, “Don’t buy a Swasticar.”

      One participant, Alice Rogers, a researcher from Illinois currently at the University of Cambridge, expressed that the protest served as an outlet for frustration concerning developments in the US.

      “Musk is acting in ways that undermine our constitution. I’m very worried about what I’m witnessing – he’s dismantling agencies and cutting USAID,” she told The Guardian. Another participant, 32-year-old Giles Pearson, cited Musk’s rightwing politics as his motivation for wanting to destroy the Model S.

      Escalation of Anti-Musk Actions in the UK

      The campaign against Musk has ramped up in the UK, with guerrilla-style messaging emerging in public areas. Fake advertisements have appeared at bus stops featuring slogans like, “Autopilot for your car. Autocrat for your country,” “Now With White Power Steering,” and “The Fast and the Führer.”

      The New York Times reports that various anti-Musk groups have sprung up across Europe, many intending to damage Tesla’s brand and decrease its stock value. Some focus specifically on disrupting sales and affecting the company’s public image.

      “There has never been a target exactly like this,” said John Gorenfeld from the ‘Takedown Tesla’ group. “No one that wealthy and powerful has behaved so outrageously. There’s a campy and absurd aspect to Musk’s brand of toxicity, which opens up a genuine opportunity for ridicule.”