Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Tesla showroom on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver Saturday to voice their displeasure with the company’s CEO Elon Musk.
Waving Canadian flags and carrying signs with slogans like “Tesla funds fascism” and “Send Musk to Mars,” the crowd chanted, sang “O Canada” and chatted with at least one passing Tesla driver who expressed support for the cause.
Protester Laurence Perry called the turnout “incredible.”
“I’m here today because I believe that Elon Musk and Donald Trump and their merry band of oligarchs are waging a full-out assault on our country, on our people, and I’m not going to stand here and take it,” Perry said.
Tesla stores worldwide have become the target of protests and vandalism in recent months, with the electric vehicle brand serving as a proxy for Musk and his budget-slashing role in U.S. President Donald Trump’s government.
Musk pumped US$270 million into Trump’s campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November.
Tesla stock soared to US$479 per share by mid-December, but is now trading around US$230 per share, with some analysts blaming Musk’s support of Trump and far-right politicians around the world for the company’s declining vehicle sales.
Musk has been a cheerleader for Trump’s threats to annex Canada, writing on his social media platform X that Canada is “not a real country.”
A petition to revoke Musk’s Canadian citizenship on the grounds that he has “engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada” and “attacked Canadian sovereignty” has amassed hundreds of thousands of signatures.
Jeffrey Christenson told CTV News at Saturday’s rally that Musk’s comments about Canada are an indication that he is “a dangerous person.”
“I’m here to protest against the company Tesla, but because of Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, and the effect he’s had on the world,” Christenson said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Lisa Steacy and The Associated Press
