Anti-Elon Musk protesters are coming for Tesla’s new diner

An aerial presumption of the Tesla diner successful Los Angeles. | Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Tesla conscionable opened a retro diner successful Los Angeles, truthful it was lone a substance of clip earlier anti-Elon Musk protesters caught wind.

The long-awaited retrofuturistic diner, implicit with elephantine outdoor screens for drive-in movies, dozens of Supercharger stalls, and an Optimus robot serving popcorn, opened to immense lines successful West Hollywood connected July 21st. Protesters are readying connected demonstrating extracurricular the recently opened diner connected July 26th, according to the Action Network website, which has served arsenic a repository for the alleged Tesla Takedown movement.

“[Elon Musk] wants to observe his reign of panic successful OUR CITY, Occupied Los Angeles, with a cheesy Tesla-branded diner exclusively for his legion of conmen stock-pumpers and MLM influencer tryhards?” the website reads. “WE SAY HELL NO.”

Since aboriginal February of this year, Tesla has been the people of protesters opposed to Musk’s engagement with the Trump administration. As Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sought to destruct humanitarian assistance programs and occurrence tens of thousands of authorities workers, demonstrators person expressed their rage by picketing extracurricular Tesla showrooms and demanding Tesla owners merchantability their vehicles.

Others person taken things further, defacing Tesla vehicles with anti-Musk slogans, smashing windows, and adjacent mounting immoderate Tesla spot connected fire. Musk’s allies successful the Trump medication are threatening to prosecute anyone caught defacing Tesla vehicles by classifying the acts as “domestic terrorism.“

Musk officially stepped backmost from DOGE successful May, though helium claims that helium volition stay progressive with the radical successful immoderate capacity. The pursuing month, Musk and President Donald Trump had a nationalist falling out, with the 2 engaged successful a warfare of words. Trump has threatened to deport Musk, portion Musk has accused the president of being connected Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged lawsuit list.

Despite each the drama, anti-Musk protesters are trying to support up the energy. Joel Lava, who has been helping pb the Tesla Takedown protests successful Los Angeles, said helium expects a ample assemblage extracurricular the diner this Saturday.

“It’s successful West Hollywood,” Lava told The Verge. “I deliberation it’s harmless to accidental that Elon Musk is not a fashionable fig successful West Hollywood. So I don’t deliberation it’s going to beryllium hard to protestation it.”

While the play crowds whitethorn person diminished somewhat from their highest successful the spring, and portion Musk whitethorn person distanced himself from the Trump administration, the Tesla Takedown question hasn’t fixed up. Lava said that dozens of radical inactive amusement up each week to protestation extracurricular of Tesla locations successful LA, buoyed by quality of Tesla’s worsening net connection and falling sales. He besides cited caller reports of nutrient that was expected to vessel retired with USAID being left to rot successful warehouses acknowledgment to DOGE’s backing cuts. And the quality that Musk whitethorn commencement his ain governmental enactment has further motivated the activists to support up their presence, Lava said.

“Yes, our numbers person dwindled, but they person stayed strong,” helium said. “We’ve already built a community, [and] radical volition amusement up.”

Lava said the tactics volition beryllium akin to those utilized successful protests extracurricular of Tesla dealerships and charging stations: raising consciousness astir Musk’s efforts to decimate humanitarian assistance and destruct the national government.

“I deliberation our elemental connection is Tesla funds fascism,” Lava said. “You’re going into this cafe, and you’re giving a $300 cardinal antheral your ain wealth to assistance destruct the cloth of our country. That’s wherefore we don’t privation you buying Tesla. And that’s wherefore you shouldn’t spell into this cafe.”