Elon Musk: Protesters outside London Tesla dealership call for boycott
Protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership in London have called for people to boycott the Elon Musk owned electric car maker.
Organisers are encouraging Tesla owners to sell their cars and for people to dump stock.
The electric car giant has already seen shares plunge since the start of the year as the firm comes under pressure from Chinese rivals amid calls for a boycott over Musk’s close ties with US President Donald Trump and far-right causes.
A small group of demonstrators at the Tesla centre in Park Royal, west London, held up banners that read “Honk if you hate Tesla” and “Enough fascist nonsense”.
The Tesla dealership carried on operating as normal on Saturday, with staff appearing oblivious to the protest.
On Wednesday, two Just Stop Oil protesters were arrested after pouring orange powdered paint over a robot at a Tesla shop in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, the Metropolitan Police said.
Retired teacher Catherine Rennie Nash, 74, and former tax adviser Nigel Fleming, 63, climbed on to a podium display in the store.
The pair then poured paint over the robot and unfurled a Just Stop Oil banner, in what they said was a protest against Musk and billionaires “jeopardising climate science” and threatening democracy.
US Tesla protests
Tesla has been a target of protests and vandalism in America in recent weeks.
Police in Oregon said they are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership.
The shooting came a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado, including Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on the building.
In a show of support for Musk’s company, US President Donald Trump shopped for a new Tesla on the White House drive on Tuesday, selecting a shiny red sedan.
“Wow,” Trump said as he sat in the driver’s seat of a Model S. “That’s beautiful.”
Musk continues to run Tesla – as well as the social media platform X and the rocket manufacturer SpaceX – while also serving as Trump’s adviser.
Press Association – George Lithgow