Latest news with #IndivisibleCharlotte
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indivisible Charlotte holds 10th Tesla protest in Matthews
A local civic engagement and advocacy group hosted its tenth Tesla protest Saturday afternoon. READ: Thousands gather in Charlotte to participate in national 'Hands Off!' protest Volunteers with Indivisible Charlotte gathered in front of the Matthews Tesla dealership in a peaceful protest. Organizers said the group was out there to protest D.O.G.E. and Elon Musk, with a focus on dissent toward billionaire involvement in the government and cuts to social programs. The protests aim to discourage others from buying Tesla vehicles or Tesla stock, according to organizers. PHOTOS: Indivisible Charlotte holds 10th Tesla protest in Matthews
Axios
27-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Tesla protests continue across the country, including in Charlotte
Protests against Elon Musk 's Tesla have been going on across the country for weeks, and organizers say they don't plan to stop until their message is heard. Why it matters: Tesla has become the focal point of frustration that an unelected billionaire is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), cutting government agency positions and resources in the process. The other side: DOGE supporters see Musk's methods as an efficient way to cut government waste and slash federal regulations. State of play: A #TeslaTakedown movement encourages people to people to sell their Tesla vehicles, get rid of their stock in the company as a way to "stop Musk now," according to its website. There are also organizations like Indivisible Charlotte, which have helped organize Tesla protests locally in front of the Matthews dealership off Independence Boulevard. Indivisible Charlotte, a local advocacy group for civic engagement, stays off Tesla's property and protests are peaceful, Indivisible Charlotte volunteer Linda Meigs tells Axios. These protests are a "direct response to DOGE and the destruction that DOGE is creating within our support systems in the country," Rachelle Salo, Indivisible Charlotte mobilization director, tells Axios. Zoom in: DOGE's " move fast, break things" style has left some people frustrated. Musk is "claiming that he's sniffing out waste and making sure that everything is running efficiently," Meigs says. "There is a Government Accountability Office (the GAO) that is independent, nonpartisan, and that is its job." GAO "examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, non-partisan, fact-based information to help the government save money and work more efficiently," according to its website. It's then up to Congress to implement changes. Between the lines: DOGE cuts have been felt across the board, including Social Security. Meigs tells Axios she worked for decades as a public school teacher and has since retired. Social Security accounts for half of her retirement. "If that goes away because he disagrees with because he, a billionaire, thinks it's the greatest Ponzi scheme, I disagree with that," Meigs says. What's next: More protests are scheduled across the country, including one in Charlotte at 11am Saturday at the Matthews Tesla. The event's website indicates more than 60 people have signed up. Zoom out: Protests in Charlotte typically draw around 90-115 people. Indivisible Charlotte isn't organizing this weekend's #TeslaTakedown protest, but they will have a presence there. Indivisible Charlotte will also hold a rally from 11am-1pm Saturday, April 5, at Charlotte Mecklenburg County Social Services Department. Salo tells Axios the rally will include a march down Randolph Road toward the Mint Museum Randolph and back. The march will represent things people stand to lose, from the arts to medical and social services, Salo says. The bottom line: "We will continue [to protest] as long as it is a relevant and strategic way to put pressure on the administration for what we believe are the unconstitutional ways they are moving," Salo says.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘No one elected Elon' group protests Musk, DOGE in front of Charlotte Tesla dealership
Dozens of protesters stood on a sidewalk outside the Tesla dealership in Matthews on Friday, most carrying signs with a message: Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have got to go. Jane Hodapp, who has lived in Matthews since 1987, said she was motivated to join the protest because she thinks Musk has been given too much power with DOGE, pointing to the recent layoffs of thousands of federal workers under the direction of the billionaire Tesla CEO. 'I'm so scared and angry about what is happening in our country,' said Hodapp, a volunteer with Indivisible Charlotte, the group that organized the protest. 'He's not in touch with the human being.' The group, which is a local branch of the national organization, stood on Independence Boulevard for two hours. Some drivers heckled the protesters, shouting expletives or voicing their support for President Donald Trump and Musk. 'We love you too,' one volunteer shouted after a man called them a profanity from his truck. Other vehicles honked while driving by, or whooped and hollered to show support. One woman, who wasn't with Indivisible Charlotte, showed up with a case of bottled water and joined the group, said Ava Williams, deputy director of the organization. 'The amount of outpouring of honks and cheers and thumbs up and claps … was heartening,' Williamson said. Volunteers like Siobhan Ashbrook hope people who saw them protesting will feel inspired to join the group, and know they're not alone. 'A lot of people feel the way we do, but they feel helpless and isolated,' Ashbrook said. 'Seeing people protest is something that assures other people that they're not alone in their feelings and their observations.' Another volunteer, Vivian Brenner, said it also gives people a peaceful, constructive and fun way to channel their feelings about what is going on. The group was specifically protesting Musk and DOGE because Musk wasn't elected by voters to his position or confirmed by the U.S. Senate the way a Cabinet member is, and the cuts the government has made under his direction have been unconstitutional, Williamson said. She raised concerns about the recent layoffs of nuclear weapons workers and the canceling of an Ebola prevention effort. 'They're dismantling the infrastructure of our government that keeps us all safe,' Williamson said. 'There's no efficiency.' Since Trump has taken office, workers laid off under the DOGE umbrella include U.S. Forest Service workers in Western North Carolina who were helping with the recovery from Hurricane Helene. Trump has tried to freeze federal funding for funding for other government programs and agencies. The goal, Musk and Trump have said, is to scrutinize and reduce government spending, and reduce the federal workforce. Their efforts have resulted in lawsuits trying to stop their actions, and some laid-off federal workers have had their terminations rescinded. The Ebola prevention effort was reinstated — although NPR reported experts disagree it has been fully restored — and the nuclear weapons workers had their terminations rescinded. Musk called both eliminations an accident. But with federal employees being laid off in other departments, such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which helps protect U.S. consumers from banking fraud, Williamson said many of the protesters are worried about their safety. And while the group doesn't have plans to protest at the dealership again, they'll do whatever they can to have the most impact, she said. Linda Meigs, another volunteer, made a point to show off the two small U.S. flags draped from her sign. 'We are proud Americans … The people own it,' she said. 'No one can take that from us.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘It's Musk or us!' Protest held outside Senator Thom Tillis' office in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — People lined the street Thursday outside Thom Tillis' north Charlotte office. The demonstration was led by the group Indivisible Charlotte and focused on Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration. Those lined along Mallard Creek Road were frustrated that Senator Tillis has aligned himself with the administration and confirmed several of the president's cabinet picks. Despite Trump's victory in North Carolina, organizer Carolyn Eberly argued Musk's involvement was not what voters wanted. MORE: Musk uses his X ownership and White House position to push Trump priorities, intimidate detractors 'There are people that voted for Trump but they did not vote for Elon Musk, they did not vote for their information to be public now,' Eberly said. Tillis issued a statement in response to Thursday's protests. For four years, Democrats remained silent as the Biden Administration led our nation into one crisis after another—opening our southern border to record illegal immigration, causing the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, overseeing a faltering economy with soaring inflation, all while the President was either unwilling or unable to lead. Now, as President Trump works to make our nation strong and safe again, Democrats are protesting. Senator Thom Tillis Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
