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Elon Musk protests continue · Elon Musk Podcast

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  Your. Ultimate authority for daily
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  Elon Musk news. Exploring the world's biggest
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  ideas with your host Will Walden.
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  There's something new every day. Elon Musk skewed with Donald
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  Trump and his abrupt exit from federal government role has not
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  slowed down the protest campaign aimed directly at his influence.
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  A Protesters linked to the Tesla takedown movement returned to
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  Tesla showrooms across the country this weekend, continuing
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  their pressure campaign despite Musk's withdrawal from the
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  Department of Government efficiency in his fallout with
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  Trump over a massive tax and spending proposal.
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  But a central question that keeps fueling this campaign
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  remains clear. Will direct action against Elon
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  Musk's influence affect Tesla's future and public trust and
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  billionaire backed policy now? Musk left DOGE days before
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  calling Trump's tax and domestic agenda a disgusting abomination.
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  Now, despite having donated $288,000,000 to Trump's 2024
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  campaign, that is now. That reversal triggered a public
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  confrontation with Trump threatening to cancel government
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  contracts with SpaceX, Tesla, and other Musk companies.
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  Now, Musk escalated the feud by claiming that Trump wouldn't
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  have won without him. This fight spilled into the
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  streets, where protesters continued targeting Musk's
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  economic and political entanglements.
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  On Saturday, organizers scheduled 60 separate
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  demonstrations under the Tesla takedown banner.
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  The campaign, launched in February during Musk's tenure at
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  DOGE, urges Tesla owners to sell their vehicles and shareholders
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  to liquidate their stakes. Demonstrations happened in
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  cities from Florida to Kentucky to Georgia, each one demanding
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  public accountability and rejection of what organizers
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  call Musk's grip on policy and technology.
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  Now, a protest outside of Tesla showroom in Washington, DC's
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  Georgetown neighborhood drew about 30 participants despite
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  rain and competition from Pride Month events.
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  Organizers attributed the lower turn out to weather, noting that
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  the previous weekend's event in Rockville, MD, brought in about
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  200 people. They insisted the message still
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  matters even when numbers fluctuate.
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  Protesters claim Musk's departure from DOGE changes
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  nothing above his overall influence.
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  Melissa Nutsen said that Musk going home with his tail between
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  his legs doesn't alter their goal.
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  She repeated the Group SCORE message.
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  People should sell their Teslas, divest their stock in protest
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  until Musk no longer holds any public power.
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  Now, they claim that opposing Musk is necessary to protect
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  democratic systems in public well-being.
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  Tesla's financial performance added momentum to this campaign,
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  and the company reported a 13% drop in vehicle deliveries in
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  Q1, which is the worst in its history.
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  Tesla stock fell 14% this week and remains 47% below with
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  December high. Now, these protesters have said
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  that seeing the stock fall boosted the morale at the
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  Israelis, reinforcing their belief that this kind of public
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  pressure is effective against Elon.
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  Now, Musk attributed the drop in sales to weak consumer
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  confidence in a macroeconomic factors, but industry data shows
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  that other EV makers increased deliveries during the same
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  period. That contradiction strengthened
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  the resolve among demonstrators who blame Elon Musk's leadership
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  and behavior for Tesla struggles.
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  Organizers used Musk's departure from Doe's to launch another
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  protest push on social media. They announced that June 28th,
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  which is Elon Musk's birthday, they'll mark another day of
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  protests. They called the upcoming date a
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  recommitment and encourage people to rally even harder.
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  They reiterated that the movement is against the
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  consolidation of political and economic power in the hands of
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  just a few billionaires. Protesters also urged large
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  investment funds to drop Tesla shares.
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  Some cited a May letter from institutional investors to
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  Tesla's board that criticized management decisions and
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  corporate governance. Now these public and private
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  efforts from A2 pronged strategy, internal pressure and
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  internal financial disruption. Now that's to reduce Elon Musk's
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  overall influence. Longtime protesters say they see
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  no reason to back down. Jean Faris, who's attended her
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  fifth Tesla protest, believes Musk's influence remains strong
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  even without Doge. James Deckard said the
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  gatherings create a sense of motivation and community among
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  critics who want to resist what they see as Musk's control over
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  public priorities. Some see the Musk Trump conflict
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  as irrelevant to the broader protest school.
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  Donna Powell, who has participated in up to 60 anti
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  Trump rallies, described Musk and Trump as quote, billionaire
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  brats having a tiff quote. She dismissed the idea that
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  Trump supporters would shift their stance to join the
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  protests against Musk, suggesting the president's base
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  remains unmoved. Now, her husband, Don Powell,
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  argued that the rivalry between Trump and Musk won't last.
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  They predicted that both men will eventually reconcile
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  because their interests align. Protesters on the ground believe
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  that the underlying structures keeping people like Musk in
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  positions of power have not changed, even as political
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  alliances will shift. Some people think that the rift
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  between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump is simply a
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  distraction from something that's going on deeper in the
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  government. Is there something that they're
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  hiding? We don't really know, but that's
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  what some protesters believe. Maybe there's something going on
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  with DOGE that we shouldn't know about now.
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  Musk has not responded to inquiries about the protests or
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  his exit from DOGE from this podcast.
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  Neither has Tesla nor early Tesla takedown organizers now.
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  That silence has not stopped the movement, though.
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  Organizers say they are already planning the next round of
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  demonstrations and encourage supporters to take more
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  aggressive action before the next corporate earnings report.
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  Will you be there at the protests?
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  Let me know what you think. If your podcast platform has
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  comments, I want to hear it. Let's have a discussion about
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  this. Want to know what you think
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  about Elon Musk and if you have soured on the idea of Elon Musk,
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  That's a great conversation to have.
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  I know a lot of people have in my circle, and some people,
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  they're completely behind the guy.
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  So let me know what you think in the comments on whatever podcast
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  platform you're on right now. Now the Tesla takedown protests
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  continue despite leadership changes and political infighting
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  because organizers believe that Musk's influence still poses a
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  huge direct threat to democratic policy and also market
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  integrity. What will happen at the next
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  Musk protest on his birthday? Will it be peaceful?
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  Will there be Tesla showrooms caught on fire again?
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  Just gonna have to wait and find out.
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  June 28th, Musk's birthday. Also on your podcast platform
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  right now, I want you to take a second and hit the subscribe or
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  follow button. And also, if you have a like
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  button, that'd be great. And also, if you've been
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  listening for a long time and you haven't given us a review,
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  I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed the podcast, give us a
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  good review. You know, if you like the show,
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  give us a good review. I'd really appreciate it.
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  We really need that right now. Hey, thank you so much for
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  listening today. I really do appreciate your
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  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
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  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
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  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero.
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  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
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  And I'll see you tomorrow.