British political campaign group Led By Donkeys said Musk’s ’embrace of the global far-right’ has resulted in ‘thousands’ of drivers selling their Tesla vehicles
A campaign group has carried out what it claims to be the world’s largest anti-Elon Musk protest after carving an enormous message to the billionaire on a Welsh beach. A Tesla driver, known only as Prama, wrote out the words ‘Don’t buy Tesla’ that was accompanied by the outline of a figure posing with a ‘Nazi’ salute.
The entire message spans 250m x 150m and was done by attaching a massive rake to the back of a Tesla Model 3. The figure is a reference to Musk, who owns Tesla, allegedly giving the infamous salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration day earlier this year in January.
British political campaign group Led By Donkeys staged the protest on Black Rock Sands – Traeth y Greigddu – near Porthmadog and said that it is the “world’s biggest anti-Elon Musk protest”. A spokesperson for the group said: “Like thousands of others, Prama is selling her Tesla in response to Musk’s embrace of the global far-right.”
She explained her motives for getting rid of the electric car after owning it for six years. “We used to joke that Elon Musk was like a real-life Iron Man, but then there’s so many things that have happened.
“He’s gone into becoming someone who is obsessed by power, and that’s really changed my view on him. When he started getting onto the tickets of the extreme far-right, that’s when I started thinking, ‘I’m not really sure I should be driving a Tesla. Please, don’t buy a Tesla.”
The protest follows a number of recent attacks on Tesla vehicles across the world. Approximately 20 cars were damaged in an attack at a Tesla dealership in Belfast over the weekend.
Most of the cars in showroom had their wing mirrors broken, with others having their windows smashed in and dents made the bodywork. Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) have appealed for witnesses and said in statement yesterday: “The damage is believed to have occurred at some point in the last 24 hours.
“Approximately 20 vehicles have been targeted. Most have had their wing mirrors knocked off, while others have also had windows smashed or received dents to the bodywork. Inquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.”
While South Belfast MLA Paula Bradshaw said: “This is entirely unwarranted criminal damage that will not only cause fear in staff working there but which will cause considerable difficulty to those trying to carry out legitimate business, as well as customers.”
Elsewhere, in New York one Tesla Cybertruck owner watched on as a man defaced his vehicle by scrawling a swastika on one of its doors. The word ‘Elon’ was written above the hate symbol, reports the MailOnline.
Avi Ben Hamo, 45,was across the street when Michael Lewis, 42, wrote something on the side of his $80,000 (£61,700) car, which Musk has previously described as ‘indestructible’. Ben Hamo jumped in front of Lewis’s Subaru and confronted him.
Lewis ditched his car and ran away but when he returned later was arrested by police officers on the scene. Musk himself commented on the incident on his X profile, writing: “Naturally, he drives a Subaru” and calling Lewis “crazy”.
Shares in Tesla – once valued at one trillion dollars – have plummeted in the past week, wiping out virtually all gains made following the US Presidential Election in November last year. The company has now seen its stock value fall for the past eight weeks, losing almost 41% of its value in that period.
Investors had been bullish about Tesla, with its stock rising from about $250 (£192) to $490 (£377) following the election of Donald Trump, who Musk has closely aligned himself with since he endorsed the Republican following a botched assassination attempt in July last year. But his political activities since the Republican took office have led to huge protest movements against him.
