Elon Musk faces mounting pressure as Tesla protests surge, stocks plummet
Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk has faced mounting pressure amid growing protests against Tesla and a sharp decline in the company’s stock value. As public scrutiny intensifies, the billionaire CEO finds himself navigating one of the most challenging periods of his career.
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Elon Musk, who once supported Democrats like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, has become a powerful figure within Republican circles due to his close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Elon Musk is seen here at a Trump campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Almost immediately after Donald Trump's election in 2024, the U.S. president named Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk's team set to work slashing jobs in the federal workforce. The White House has said Musk is working as a 'special government employee.'
Donald Trump is seen here listening to Elon Musk as he speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
Elon Musk faced swift condemnation for a gesture he made while addressing a crowd of Trump supporters on Inauguration Day. The Tesla CEO brought his hand across his chest and then launched it into the air with his hand and wrist straight – earning intense scrutiny for what some believe was a ‘Nazi salute,’ on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Musk has denied the claim. (AP Photo)
Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company Tesla have spiked around the world following Musk's close relationship with Trump, and his overseeing of DOGE to slash U.S. federal department spending.
Here, a burnt-out Tesla car stands in the Steglitz district of Berlin, Friday, March 14, 2025, as four Teslas are suspected to have been set on fire in Berlin. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)
A number of the most prominent incidents in the U.S. have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high.
In this image, a member of the Seattle Fire Department is seen inspecting a burned Tesla Cybertruck at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Tesla’s company’s market capitalization has dropped 45 per cent since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after CEO Elon Musk helped finance the election victory of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Protesters are seen here carrying signs and chanting slogans outside a Tesla showroom and service center in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Tesla sales were particularly bad in Germany and France in January, down roughly 60 per cent, more than the average decline for the more than two-dozen European countries surveyed. Sales in France fell another 26 per cent in February.
Aerial view of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg on March 17, 2025 near Gruenheide, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump shopped for a new Tesla on the White House driveway on Tuesday, selecting a shiny red sedan to show his support for Elon Musk ‘s electric vehicle company as it faces blowback because of his work to advance the president’s political agenda and downsize the federal government. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Canadians in several cities, including Ottawa and Vancouver, have joined a series of “Tesla Takedown” protests to denounce CEO Elon Musk and his role advising U.S. President Donald Trump.
Juan Alperin and his son Milo are seen attending a protest at a Tesla dealership in Surrey, B.C. on Sunday, March 16, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brenna Owen)
The City of Toronto is no longer providing financial incentives for Tesla vehicles purchased as taxis or ride shares due to trade tensions with the United States, Mayor Olivia Chow said on Monday, March 17, 2025.
Two young adults were arrested after a Tesla car dealership in Montreal was vandalized on March 19. Police say they received a 911 call at around 10 a.m. about the front of the building being covered in pink spray paint. When officers arrived at the dealership on Ferrier Street, they arrested two men aged 21.
A police officer is seen wrapping up police tape at a Tesla dealership that was vandalized with pink paint in Montreal on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi)
Organizers of the Vancouver Auto Show announced on March 18 that vehicles from Elon Musk’s company will no longer be an exhibitor at the event due to safety -- a move that comes as the billionaire faces backlash for his alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump amid a trade war between Canada and the U.S.
Dozens of people took to the Tesla showroom on Carling Avenue in Ottawa on March 15, 2025, to sound off on the company’s CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump. Cars were seen driving by, honking their horns and cheering along to signs saying, “Elbows up Canada,” and “Honk if you’re not driving a Tesla.”
Protesters outside a Tesla Service Center on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans express their issues with Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
