Protests against Elon Musk's purge of US government swarm Tesla showrooms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Protesters against billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump demonstrated outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. and in some cities in Europe on Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.

The protesters were trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending. The biggest portion of Musk’s estimated $340 billion fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which he continues to run while also working alongside Trump.

After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centers in the U.S. 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 automaker'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 counterprotesters also showed up at some sites.

“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go!” several dozen people chanted outside a showroom in Dublin, California, about 35 miles (60 miles) east of San Francisco, while a smaller cluster of Trump supporters waved American flags across the street.

A much larger crowd circled another showroom in nearby Berkeley, chanting slogans to the beat of drums.

“We're living in a fascist state,” said Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from neighboring Oakland, “and we need to stop this or we'll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.”

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.

About two dozen people held signs lambasting the billionaire outside a dealership in London as passing cars and trucks tooted horns in support.

One sign displayed depicted Musk next to an image of Adolf Hitler making the Nazi salute — a gesture that Musk has been accused of reprising shortly after Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. A person in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume held another sign with a picture of Musk's straight-arm gesture that said, “You thought the Nazis were extinct. Don’t buy a Swasticar.”

“We just want to get loud, make noise, make people aware of the problems that we’re facing,” said Cam Whitten, an American who showed up at the London protest.

Tesla Takedown was organized by a group of supporters that included disillusioned owners of the automaker’s vehicles, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Party lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.

“I’m going to keep screaming in the halls of Congress. I just need you all to make sure you all keep screaming in the streets,” Crockett said during an organizing call this month.

Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, showed up at a protest in Seattle, which she represents in Congress.

Some people have gone beyond protest, setting Tesla vehicles on fire or committing other acts of vandalism that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has decried as domestic terrorism. In a March 20 company meeting, Musk indicated that he was dumbfounded by the attacks and said the vandals should “stop acting psycho.”

Crockett and other Tesla Takedown supporters have been stressing the importance of Saturday’s protests remaining peaceful.

But police were investigating a fire that destroyed seven Teslas in northwestern Germany in the early morning. It was not immediately clear if the blaze, which was extinguished by firefighters, was related to the protests.

In Watertown, Massachusetts, local police reported that the side mirror of a black pickup struck two people at a protest outside a Tesla service center, according to the Boston Herald. The suspect was promptly identified by police at the scene, who said there were no serious injuries.

A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before 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 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.

“There are times when there are rocky moments, where there is stormy weather, but what I am here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting,” Musk said.

After Trump was elected last November, investors initially saw Musk’s alliance with the president as a positive development for Tesla and its long-running efforts to launch a network of self-driving cars.

That optimism helped lift Tesla’s stock by 70% between the election and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, creating an additional $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the backlash, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.

“This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.

This story has been corrected to fix the misspelling of the surname of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, which appeared in an earlier version.

Associated Press writers Terry Chea in Berkeley, California, Mustakim Hasnath in London and Stefanie Dazio in Germany contributed.

A protestor hold a banner during a protest outside a Tesla showroom against U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk outside a Tesla showroom in Santa Monica, Calif., on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A protester holds a sign against Tesla CEO Elon Musk while rallying outside a Tesla store in San Francisco on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A Tesla driver shrugs while passing protesters against Tesla CEO Elon Musk in San Francisco on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Protesters rally against Tesla CEO Elon Musk outside a Tesla store in San Francisco on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Victoria Millard of the Troublemakers stands in front of a Tesla showroom dressed as President Donald Trump during a protest against Tesla and Elon Musk Saturday, March 29, 2025, in the University District of Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A Tesla vehicle displays an anti-Elon Musk sign near a protest against Tesla and Elon Musk outside a service center Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

People protest outside a Tesla showroom in Vancouver, on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

A protester holds a placard as she takes part in the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action near a Tesla dealership in London, Saturday, March 29, 2025.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

People wave signs to passing cars during a protest against Tesla and Elon Musk outside of a Tesla service center location Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., speaks to a crowd outside a Tesla showroom during a protest against Tesla and Elon Musk Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

People wave signs and a during a protest against Tesla and Elon Musk outside of a Tesla showroom Saturday, March 29, 2025, in the University District of Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A protester holds a placard as he takes part in the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action near a Tesla dealership, in Paris, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Protesters hold placards as they take part in the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action near a Tesla dealership in London, Saturday, March 29, 2025.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

A protester holds a placard as she takes part in the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action near a Tesla dealership in Paris, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Protesters attend the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action in front of a Tesla dealership, in Berlin, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A burnt-out Tesla sits in front of a Tesla dealership early Saturday, March 29, 2025 in Ottersberg, Germany. (J'rn H'neke/dpa via AP)

Protesters hold placards as they take part in the Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action near a Tesla dealership in London, Saturday, March 29, 2025.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)

A protester holds a placard during a Tesla Takedown Global Day protest in front of a Tesla dealership, in Berlin, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has halted dozens of research grants at Princeton University, the latest Ivy League school to see its federal money threatened in a pressure campaign targeting the nation’s top universities.

Princeton was notified this week that several dozen federal grants are being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message sent Tuesday by Christopher Eisgruber, the university's president.

Eisgruber said the rationale was not fully clear but that Princeton will comply with the law. The school is among dozens facing federal investigations into antisemitism following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests last year.

"We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism," Eisgruber wrote. "Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University."

As President Donald Trump presses his political agenda on universities across the country, he has paid special attention to Ivy League institutions.

Columbia University was the first one targeted, losing $400 million in federal money with threats to terminate more if it didn't make the campus safer for Jewish students. The school agreed to several demands from the government last month, including an overhaul of student discipline rules and a review of the school's Middle East studies department.

The government later suspended about $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender swimmer who previously competed for the school. On Monday, a federal antisemitism task force said it was reviewing almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts at Harvard University amid an investigation into campus antisemitism.

The pressure has created a dilemma for U.S. colleges, which rely on federal research funding as a major source of revenue.

Eisgruber came forward as a voice of opposition as the Trump administration ratcheted up pressure on Columbia, calling it the greatest threat to American universities in decades.

“The attack on Columbia is a radical threat to scholarly excellence and to America's leadership in research,” Eisgruber wrote in a March 19 essay in The Atlantic magazine. “Universities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights.”

Several agencies on the federal antisemitism task force did not immediately respond to questions about the action at Princeton, nor did the agencies behind the research grants.

Princeton was among 60 universities that received a warning letter from the Education Department in March over accusations of antisemitism. It said the schools could face enforcement action if they didn't address anti-Jewish bias on campus. All but two Ivy League schools, Penn and Dartmouth, were on the list.

The Education Department launched an investigation at Princeton in April 2024 under the Biden administration. It was in response to a complaint filed by the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, a conservative news organization, the outlet reported. The complaint cited a pro-Palestinian protest that reportedly included chants of “Intifada” and others described as antisemitic.

The outlet's editor has filed dozens of other antisemitism complaints with the Education Department.

The Trump administration has promised a more aggressive approach against campus antisemitism, accusing former President Joe Biden of letting schools off the hook. It has opened new investigations at colleges and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests.

Trump and other officials have accused the protesters of being “pro-Hamas.” Student activists say they oppose Israel’s military activity in Gaza.

It follows a campaign by Republican in Congress who demanded answers from university leaders after the wave of protests. A series of hearings on Capitol Hill contributed to the resignation of presidents at Harvard, Columbia and Penn.

Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, resigned last week after the school agreed to the government’s demands.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - The Princeton University campus is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

FILE - Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)