Tesla backlash is growing – can Trump’s tariffs save it? ...Middle East

The movement against Elon Musk‘s Tesla is growing, with nine demonstrations planned across the UK on Saturday in a “day of action” against the firm.

The protests, organised under the banner Tesla Takedown, were held at Tesla showrooms including Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol and London, and aim to hit the firm’s share price.

More than 200 demonstrations were planned globally on Saturday, according to organisers, with dozens across the US and further protests in Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Hawaii, even reaching Australia and New Zealand.

The movement is a backlash against Musk’s work as head of the US’s new Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, which has instigated mass layoffs of civil servants, slashed US foreign aid, cut support for veterans and the team investigating Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children – though it later backtracked on both of these plans.

Musk also sparked uproar after blaming Ukraine for a cyberattack on his social media site X.

The tech billionaire has also faced strong criticism for his close relationship to Donald Trump, to whom he donated a quarter of a billion dollars and has been advising during his second term in the White House.

Trump has been accused of abandoning Ukraine in his peace negotiations with Russia, hinted at seizing Greenland from a fellow Nato member, launched a trade war with China and US allies, attempted to make Canada the 51st state of the US and dismantling the department for education.

The president has also used his second term to crackdown on both legal and illegal migration, which the White House has called an “invasion”.

Tesla’s stock price has been broadly falling this year, from $424 the day after Trump’s inauguration to $263 on Friday.

By mid March, Tesla’s stock had dropped 36 per cent, but was still up by 54 per cent overall over the past 12 months.

It is unclear how much of the drop is due to hostility to Musk versus the firm’s ageing fleet and growing competition in electric vehicles.

Earlier this year, Trump examined several vehicles which had been parked on the lawn of the White House and pledged to buy one the following morning.

Tesla arson ‘treated as domestic terrorism’

Protests against Tesla have mostly been peaceful – and the Tesla Takedown movement says it oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property – some have spilled into violence.

Shots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon and there was a suspected arson attack on a dealership in France, while charging stations have been set alight in Boston.

Police this week arrested a suspect in a high-profile attack against a Tesla showroom in Las Vegas involving molotov cocktails.

Tesla dealerships in Australia and New Zealand have also been hit by vandalism, and sales across the two countries were down 35 per cent compared with the same time last year, according to data from Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council.

Last year, several people were injured when hundreds of protesters attempted to storm a Tesla factory in Germany over its planned expansion, which they argued would damage the environment.

Trump has said that violence against Tesla dealerships would be treated as “domestic terrorism” and that perpetrators would “go through hell”.

The FBI this week launched a taskforce focused on the Tesla attacks.

Will the protests hurt brand Tesla?

Jonathan A.J. Wilson, Professor of Brand Strategy and Culture at Regent’s University London, said that the reputational damage to Tesla from its association with the White House was more likely to stick because consumers think deeply before investing in a long-term product like a car.

“The challenge is that a car is something that says a lot about a person, especially about the environment and what you stand for. It’s a status symbol,” he said.

“There are going to be loads of people that [think]… every time I drive my kids to school, people are going to think that I’m a Maga supporter.”

While Tesla is currently in a “s***storm”, Wilson said the brand would be able to “weather the storm” if Musk has enough money and appetite to do so. 

Oliver Foster, chief executive of Pagefield public relations consultancy said that Musk had taken a gamble in aligning his green car brand so closely with Trump – who has previously called electric vehicles a “hoax” – and that it was “not paying off.”

Foster said the extent to which Tesla suffered long term reputational or financial damage from the current protest movement would depend on the direction they took.

“If people fear continuing to own a Tesla, and therefore to buy a Tesla, then it’s going to be quite a quick impact on the business performance.”

John Canavan, the lead analyst at economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, said the company’s relationship with Trump was a “double-edged sword.”

“It does give Elon Musk the ear of the President, [but] it t turns off a lot of potential car buyers. So it’s really a mixed bag,” he said.

“I do think that the recent price action has had a lot to do with the broader overall direction of the market.”

On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all non-US-made vehicles and parts, set to take effect on 2 April.

The move, aimed at protecting American manufacturers, is expected to cause widespread disruption to the industry and raise costs for consumers.

Max Yoeli, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, said that the new auto tariffs “will hurt jobs and economic growth both in the US and globally”.

“They are the latest in a string of measures that alienate longstanding partners,  raise prices and erode economic confidence among businesses and consumers. With more tariffs on the horizon, the administration is inviting deeper economic pain – especially for those least able to bear it,” he said.

Oxford Economics said the auto tariffs added upside risk to their inflation forecast for this year.

A Tesla Cybertruck sits in traffic in Washington DC the day before Donald Trump was inaugurated President (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)

Grace Zwemmer, Associate Economist at Oxford Economics, said: “With Canada and Mexico responsible for more than half of the US’s motor vehicle imports and exports, tariffs could cause significant disruptions in an industry that is still trying to recover amid high interest rates and affordability issues.

“Japan, South Korea, and the European Union will be impacted immediately by the auto tariffs. We will wait to see if there are retaliatory measure taken.”

Trump argues the tariffs will bolster the US car industry by encouraging manufacturing on American soil.

Abby Samp, Director of Global Industry Subscription Services at Oxford Economics, said the tariffs would “likely have the effect of reshoring some automotive production to existing US plants” but would “also raise the cost to US manufacturers and households.”

“Our analysis suggests that the tariff applies to nearly one third of the price of the car,” she said.

“Moreover, US Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) are also likely to raise prices in the face of reduced foreign competition, as happened in the 1980s when Japan limited automotive sales to the US under the Voluntary Export Restraint.”

Announcing the tariffs, the White House said: “President Trump is taking action to protect America’s automobile industry, which is vital to national security and has been undermined by excessive imports threatening America’s domestic industrial base and supply chains.

“Studies have repeatedly shown that tariffs can be an effective tool for reducing or eliminating threats to impair US national security and achieving economic and strategic objectives.”

Tesla’s US manufacturing gives it an edge on competitors

But Tesla is set to be less affected than other manufacturers, and could benefit from its competitors being more acutely hit.

This is because while the firm does import some parts from other countries, its manufacturing and supply chain is largely based in the US.

All of Tesla’s US-sold vehicles are made in country, whereas Toyota imports 55 per cent of vehicles sold in the US, and General Motors imports 48 per cent of vehicles for its US sales, according to research from Bernstein.

61 per cent of US-sold Tesla parts come from the US, Bernstein found.

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Its analysts concluded that “with near-total US sourcing, the company not only avoids pain but stands to gain margin as competitors raise prices.”

The stock closed 0.4 per cent higher on Thursday, as shares of General Motors lost 7.4 per cent, Ford Motor closed down nearly 4 per cent and Stellantis shares lost 1.3 per cent in US trading.

Musk has said that the firm is “not unscathed here” and that “the tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”

Trump has said that Musk had no influence over the tariff decision and has “never asked me for a favour in business whatsoever.”

Tesla was approached for comment. Reuters contributed to reporting.

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