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“The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time—even more than we expected—to Doge takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
“In addition, Musk’s Doge-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”
About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies.”
Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.
He argued that Tesla was overvalued and that its core business of making and selling cars was deteriorating. Significant losses could force investors to sell, triggering a drop in the share price and forcing Musk to sell a portion of his shares to meet a margin call.
“Every Tesla sale that you prevent, every dollar not spent servicing a Tesla, not charging at the Supercharger—these further degrade the business,” Niedermeyer said.
“It’s not easy, it’s not guaranteed, but we do have the opportunity to wipe out a huge amount of Elon Musk’s wealth.”
In Chicago, protesters carried a banner saying “Stop buying Nazi cars.”
City resident Lisa Pereira said she came to the demonstration because “you have to do something.” She said she was disturbed by the administration’s attempts to crush diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, its aggressive immigration enforcement, and the power wielded by Musk.
“Everything is a little off the rails,” she said. “So I decided I had to show up. I had to be in cahoots with my soul.”
Chris White said he attended on Saturday because he fears “we’re living through a fascist coup.”
“My kids are trans,” he said. “I’m getting told they don’t exist. I don’t know if their healthcare will exist.”
Though one man yelled from a truck, “Elon’s my hero!” most passers-by in the heavily Democratic city expressed support.
“I’d rather buy a Rivian,” said one, referring to the electric-truck maker whose showroom was a block away from the protest.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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