Protesters rally against Musk outside Seattle Tesla dealership

About two dozen protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership Thursday afternoon in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, decrying CEO Elon Musk’s new role in the White House. Organizers say it’s part of a nationwide boycott and more events are planned.

The chants rang through South Lake Union clearly on Thursday outside the Tesla dealership: “Billionaires have got to go!” “Stop Elon Musk!” and “This is a coup!”

The protest was in response to Musk’s role as a “special government employee” in the White House during the first weeks of President Trump’s second term. Actions Musk and his ad-hoc Department of Government Efficiency have taken so far include shutting down foreign aid programs and threatening to close the Department of Education.

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Emily Johnston, one of the organizers of Thursday’s protest, said protesters are calling for people to boycott Tesla and dump any company stock.

“It's unclear which things are intended to be distractions for us and which things they're really trying to accomplish,” Johnston said, “but it's clear what Musk is trying to accomplish: it's clear that he is, in fact, trying to empty out the federal government so that he can take a cut out of everything.”

Speakers at the protest voiced support for US AID, foreign workers, and medical research — all of which have been threatened by Musk and Trump.

“I'm terrified about what's going to happen to people who may be healthy now and may not be later. Bird flu is a concern, increasing environmental degradation is a concern,” said Lucinda Stroud, who works in health care.

“This is stuff that is avoidable,” she said. "This is stuff that we know how to prevent.”

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Sandra Hunt said she wants to see Washington’s congressional delegation stand up to changes coming from the White House.

“I was up till 5 in the morning writing letters to my local officials,” Hunt said, “and then I got up at 9 and came down here.”

Hunt said she wants Democrats to protect the rights of people most at risk of federal changes, like immigrants and trans people.

“Our representatives, they need to come together as an opposition party,” she said.

Another anti-Musk demonstration is planned Saturday in Seattle and other U.S. cities.

Thursday’s protest started about an hour before Washington state announced that it's joining a lawsuit challenging President Trump's appointment of Musk.

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