Most "Tesla Takedown" protests have been peaceful, but a few have been destructive with fires intentionally set at Tesla showrooms and charging stations in Colorado and Massachusetts last week. That was followed by six arrests in New York over the weekend when hundreds of protesters occupied a Tesla showroom. There has also been a spike in Cybertruck vandalism across the US, and some car owners are defacing their own Teslas in protest of Musk.

One woman showed up to a protest outside a Burbank Tesla last Sunday with an expletive and Musk's name scrawled in chalk across her white Model X sedan. Another car carried an "Anti Elon Tesla Club" sticker. The protests illustrate a growing unease over Musk's influence on the US government since President Donald Trump allowed him to create the cost-cutting task force Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). So far, Doge has fired or offered buyouts to about 100,000 federal employees and gained access to the sensitive personal and financial information of millions of Americans. Critics have resorted to calling the tech billionaire "President Musk", arguing that he has too much power in the White House. Some at the protest in Burbank held signs that said "Deport Elon" and "Boycott Swasticar" - with protesters attempting to connect the car to fascism. Tesla produced the must-have electric cars for many Americans with progressive views, but several protesters said they regretted their purchase after Musk involved himself with Trump and US politics.

Karen Rabwin, a protester at the Burbank Tesla last Sunday, attended just two days after trading in her Tesla for a Cadillac. She had slapped a bumper sticker on her old vehicle that read Bought This Car Before We Knew in a veiled reference to Musk, but she felt that wasn't enough. "It was embarrassing," she said of driving the Tesla. "It wasn't what I stood for. How could I drive that car? I have principles."