Dozens protest at Metro Vancouver Tesla dealerships, call for stand against hate

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 6:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Dozens of radical braved the rainfall Saturday to protestation extracurricular of Metro Vancouver Tesla dealerships, arsenic portion of a "global time of action" against the electrical carmaker's CEO, Elon Musk.

Musk is a adjacent confidant of U.S. President Donald Trump successful his relation arsenic the caput of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has implemented sweeping cuts to the United State's civilian service.

Amid a U.S.-Canada commercialized warfare that has had chilling effects connected bilateral relationships, Tesla dealerships and cars have seen protests and vandalism successful caller weeks, and the company's products have been excluded from B.C.'s electrical conveyance rebate programs.

On Saturday, protests against Musk and his institution were organized astir the satellite arsenic portion of what was dubbed the Tesla Takedown's Global Day of Action, with 4 demonstrations planned astatine Tesla dealerships successful Vancouver and Surrey.

At 1 such dealership, successful Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood, passing drivers loudly honked their horns and protesters held up signs denouncing Musk, accusing him of promoting an ambiance of hatred and authoritarianism.

"My precocious parent and my 94-year-old begetter fought for people's rights and freedoms, for progressive values, each their lives," said teacher Joellen Housego. "My dad's successful a wheelchair now, and my ma passed distant astir a twelvemonth ago.

"So I'm present for them to basal up for what they believed successful and what I judge in, and to support radical who are vulnerable."

Musk is simply a self-described "free code absolutist" who has faced disapproval from hate-speech watchdogs for allowing extremist, unsafe and antisemitic comments to flourish connected X, the societal media level that helium owns.

Juan Pablo Alperin, who was 1 of the main organizers of the Vancouver protest, said societal media platforms are being utilized to beforehand part and stoke hate.

And portion helium said helium supports protest, Alperin denounced vandalism and unit directed astatine Tesla owners and dealerships successful caller weeks, saying helium feels atrocious that immoderate employees and drivers have been caught successful the backlash.

According to the Vancouver Police Department, determination person been 28 vandalism reports connected to Tesla made since Jan. 20, including spray-painted slurs, smashed windshields and rocks thrown astatine backstage vehicles — up from zero specified reports successful each of 2024.

The Fairview dealership wherever the Saturday protestation occurred was itself a people of vandalism past week.

"We are trying to onslaught and destruct the representation and the hatred ... that Musk represents and each of the ideology that's down what helium does," Alperin said.

"It's a peaceful protestation question wherever we're trying to onslaught an idea, not onslaught individuals oregon property."

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) had said connected Friday that it was buffing up its constabulary beingness to guarantee the protests remained lawful, and that it would person an other 130 officers deployed implicit the weekend. 

The Surrey Police Service said it had nary program to deploy much officers for protests planned successful its community, noting that past demonstrations astatine Tesla dealerships person been peaceful.

Earlier this month, the Vancouver International Auto Show removed the U.S. electrical carmaker from its event citing information concerns.