Raeanne Raccagno
Copy Editor
Whistles, cowbells, music and passionate shouts filled the usually quiet area of the Mercer on One shopping strip when protesters and counter-protesters came out for the Tesla Takedown’s Global Day of Action on March 29.
Tesla Takedown, as described on their website, is a peaceful protest movement that encourages people to sell their Tesla vehicles or stock and join their protests at Tesla stores. “Hurting Tesla is stopping Musk,” their page says. “Stopping Musk will help save lives and our democracy. The stakes couldn’t be higher. No one is coming to save us—not politicians, not the media.”
The Tesla Takedown’s Global Day of Action had protest locations across the United States and spots in Canada, the Netherlands, England, Sweden and Finland, according to a map on Action Network. The Ewing protest was organized by New Jersey 50501 and the Indivisible Cranbury chapter.
“Our goal is two things. One is a sense of community among people that right now are feeling like their voices aren't heard, their jobs and liberties are being taken away,” Natasha Purdum, affiliated with New Jersey 50501 and Indivisible Cranbury and a national Tesla Takedown spokesperson, said. “The other side, our movement, is aiming to encourage folks not to buy Teslas and to trade or sell their existing Teslas, sell their Tesla stock, and to show them that there are so many of us out here that are supporting those moves and have done those things ourselves.”
Purdam traded in her Tesla last week at a protest and now assists others who are looking to sell or trade their vehicles. She said this is the first protest that NJ 50501 has officially co-sponsored.
(Photos by Raeanne Raccagno)
Gaberiela Sadote, with the Indivisible Monroe Township chapter, said this is their fourth protest at the Lawrence Township Tesla location.
Activists against Musk’s role in government and his recent motions lined up on both sides of the street from across the Tesla store, stretching down to the Nordstrom Rack store. Counter-protesters in support of Musk and Tesla had a gathering on the sidewalk directly in front of the Tesla center, complete with flags, homemade signs and a DJ booth.
A majority of the counter-protestors were present to speak out against the recent upsurge of defacing incidents of individual Tesla vehicles, facilities and charging stations happening in numerous locations. Terry Beck, or “Tough Ass Terry,” who is a member of the New Jersey Bikers for Trump, is associated with Rolling Thunder and Iron Knights, and is the organizer of Bedminster Trump rallies that have been happening since March 2018, said “discipline” against these actions has to happen now before it escalates.
Ben Williamson, assistant director of public affairs at the FBI, announced on X on March 24 the creation of a task force assigned to “crack down on violent Tesla attacks.” The task force will work together with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Beck said she’s been studying law to know what she can bring against those who engage in vandalism and has been working with lawyers to bring lawsuits to states that “have this kind of uncalled for, unacceptable, unlawful criminal behavior.”
“The vandalism and violence is something that we do not in any way support,” Purdum said. “Tesla Takedown is, at its core, a nonviolent, peaceful movement. And the violence that we're hearing about is really distracting from the real story.”
No vandalism was reported at the Lawrence Township Tesla protest.
New Jersey State Sen. Andrew Zwicker also visited the protest in support of the anti-Tesla group, speaking to multiple activists.
“It fills me with a sense of optimism to see hundreds of people here who have said enough, that they are not going to take it anymore,” Zwicker said. “That Musk and Trump, the destruction they're doing to our federal government, is dangerous and that it's time for the people to take back their country.”
During the sunny Saturday, protestors united with chants like “hey, hey, ho, ho Elon Musk has got to go.” The DJ booth told the protestors to “go back to your basements.”
The vast majority of the crowd was older, with very few young individuals present.
“We need to get more younger college students out here because this is our future that we're fighting for,” Olivia Muchowski, a 21-year-old chant leader at the protest, said. “Gen Z wanted to claim to be the group or the generation that would change everything, but I'm not seeing other Gen Z people out here.”
Passersby had a slew of reactions while seeing the protest. Some exited the stores with their mouths agape and phones in the air to record the scene. Some people took advantage of the opportunity for social media content, interacting with both sides and making fun of them behind their backs while talking to their “audience.” One young man dressed up in a KKK costume and walked up and down the streets to get people’s reactions as their friend recorded them.
“I hope that they [younger generations] don't have to go through this. I hope that they don't have to see this,” Jacob, an 18-year-old high school student with the pro-Tesla group, who only shared his first name, said. “I think it's terrible how people are here calling Elon a Nazi. I think if they're trying to stop something, they should not be calling people Nazis and racist.”
Some protestors and counter-protesters went into each other’s self-designated areas to wave their lone messages against the general mass of the area. Hidden amongst the noise were moments of affability between the two sides.
Alyson Parker and her wife, Lynn Klionsky, both supporting the Tesla Takedown protest, had multiple conversations with the opposing side. Parker said she’s been an activist since 1975 and “back in the day, the easiest way to persuade someone who was homophobic was to let them see the humanity of you as a person. I continue to carry that with me as a personal belief because nobody's gonna change their mind while we're yelling at them.”
Parker and Klionsky had a conversation with Mark DeMarco, who said he’s been conservative his whole life and calls fake news “liberal wash.” DeMarco said he was looking to have conversations with people on the opposing side and talked to about 10 Tesla protestors.
“What I found out is everybody has a different view about what's going on,” DeMarco said. “They really are nice people. I do have a shirt that reads liberal sucks, but they do because their signs are just as bad as what I have.”
At one point, the shouts and bullhorns subsided when the Star Spangled Banner began to play, interrupted by cars beeping their horns as they passed by.
“Politics is not just about Democrats or Republicans or independents. It's about your quality of life and your future,” Sadote said.
