‘We got a lot of honks in solidarity': anti-Musk protests ripple at LA's Tesla Diner
The viral popularity of the new diner, which is surrounded by 80 Tesla charging stations and two giant movie screens, has sparked out-the-door lines, massive traffic jams, and two angry protests, all within its first week of operation.
Organizers say they are protesting against what they see as the Tesla CEO's corrosive effect on US democracy, as well as the human cost of the sweeping government cuts he spearheaded while working within the Trump administration earlier this year.
For months, protesters who oppose the billionaire's political power have demonstrated outside of Tesla showrooms across the US and the world, hoping that by applying pressure to Tesla, a publicly-traded company, the Tesla Takedown movement can have an impact on Musk's behavior.
'Musk thought [the diner] would be good for him, but it's actually great for anti-Tesla protesters as well, to give us increased visibility,' said Joel Lava, who has been organizing weekly Tesla Takedown protests outside a Tesla service station in Burbank, California.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though Musk has officially left his role within the Trump administration, and has since publicly feuded with the president, the devastating effects of his so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) live on, Lava said. Lava cited recent reports that the US had thrown away nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food aid this spring, in the wake of Doge's dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Global health officials have also said Musk's budget-cutting efforts have thrown global HIV prevention efforts, including the rollout of a new 'miracle' drug, into chaos.
There are hometown considerations, as well, Lava added: Musk has a history of anti-trans comments, and the diner is right on the border of West Hollywood, one of LA's historic LGBTQ+ neighborhoods.
Protesters outside the Hollywood diner last weekend carried signs reading 'Fuck Nazi Billionaires' and 'Boycott Tesla'.
'We WILL NOT REST until the world has internalized the truth that TESLA FUNDS FASCISM,' organizers wrote in a post advertising the demonstrations, which one Los Angeles organizer estimated attracted about 100 people on Saturday, and about 85 on Sunday.
A Los Angeles police spokesperson described the two demonstrations in Hollywood as 'peaceful protests'.
Social media video of the diner demonstrations showed a few apparent Musk supporters yelling at protesters, including one young man caught on video describing himself as 'a proud fascist'.
Dave, a Los Angeles-based Tesla Takedown organizer, said a few drivers of newer Teslas and Cybertrucks around the diner had screamed at the protesters, and 'there were some people who were doing the Sieg Heil [salute]'. At least one Cybertruck driver had gotten out of his vehicle to confront protesters, Dave said.
The organizer asked not to be identified by his full name because he feared that protesting against Musk might affect his employment opportunities.
Other Tesla fans waiting in line outside the diner simply seemed confused by the political rhetoric, Dave said, and other people driving by the diner were audibly supportive.
'We got a lot of honks and fist-pumps in solidarity, and many of those were even from Tesla drivers themselves – especially the people driving the older models of Teslas,' he said.
Since it opened at 4.20pm last Monday, the diner has attracted Musk fans from across southern California, as well as curious tourists. At about midday on Wednesday last week, many fans in line had brought children with them, and some said that their kids were especially excited to see Musk's diner, which they had heard about on TikTok or YouTube.
One Tesla Diner customer told the LA Public Press on Saturday that the protesters' comparisons of Musk to a Nazi did not make sense to him.
'If he's a fascist, who has he killed?' the man asked. 'Nazis kill people, from what I understand.'
Dave, the Tesla Takedown organizer, said the demonstrators were considering more protests outside the diner, but that the group has already received at least one social media threat that they will be assaulted if they protest again next weekend.
Asked about those threatening social media posts, which came from an anonymous pro-Musk Bluesky account, an LAPD spokesperson said the department was not currently aware of 'any specific threat'.
For Angelenos who live in the neighborhood surrounding Musk's new diner, its sudden popularity has sparked a litany of complaints.
Local news outlets have reported that neighborhood residents have complained of the chaos and traffic it has brought to the neighborhood, including 'insane gridlock from 1pm to 1 am', and concerns about the giant movie screens blocking the view from nearby apartments.
'If you can send people to Mars, you should be able to figure out how to make this doable for residents,' one resident told ABC7 News.
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