President Trump calls Tesla protests 'domestic terrorism'



This article, originally posted in Japanese on 10:52 Mar 12, 2025, may contains some machine-translated parts.
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On March 11, 2025 local time, an exhibition of Tesla, an electric car manufacturer whose CEO is

Elon Musk, who supported President Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, was held on the South Lawn of the White House. During the exhibition, President Trump promised to purchase a Tesla car and described the protests targeting Tesla cars that are taking place in the US as 'domestic terrorism.'

Trump says he'll label attacks on Tesla locations as domestic terrorism | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/627896/trump-tesla-domestic-terrorism-elon-musk-white-house

Trump says he will label violence against Tesla as domestic terrorism | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/11/trump-says-he-will-label-violence-against-tesla-as-domestic-terrorism/

In the United States, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Mr. Musk, has fired government employees one after another. In response, dissatisfaction has erupted in the United States, and protests called 'Tesla Takedown' have spread.

The Tesla Takedown has not only involved a boycott of Tesla vehicles, but also reports of vandalism targeting Tesla dealers and Tesla vehicles.




President Trump has voiced his support for Tesla, even hosting a Tesla exhibit on the South Lawn of the White House, which White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino livestreamed on Musk's social networking site, X (formerly Twitter).




Five Tesla cars were on display at the exhibition, and President Trump chose one to purchase from among them. He also posted about the exhibition on his social media account, Truth Social, saying that he particularly liked the Model S and 'wanted to buy it.'



However, President Trump was photographed holding a script, and it has been suggested that this was an act to promote Tesla.



During the trade fair, a voice called out to Trump: 'Mr. President, talk to us about the violence that's happening at dealerships across the country. Some say we should call them domestic terrorists.' Trump responded, 'I call them domestic terrorists. We're going to take action to stop them, and we're going to get them. They're damaging great American businesses.'



In response, @teslatakedown.com , a Bluesky account representing the Tesla Takedown, said, 'The Tesla Takedown is a nonviolent grassroots protest movement. We oppose violence and destruction of property. Peaceful protests on public land are not domestic terrorism. The government is trying to intimidate us. We will not tolerate government actions. It is ironic that Donald Trump is trying to label our peaceful movement as domestic terrorism. This is the man who sent a violent mob to the Capitol to steal an election he lost, and then pardoned more than 1,600 rioters who were convicted by a jury of their peers for serious crimes against America,' criticizing President Trump's response.



NBC News also noted that 'due to ethical constraints, it is extremely rare for a sitting president, or even a senior government official, to so explicitly endorse a consumer product. In 2017, when Kellyanne Conway, who served as an adviser to President Trump during the first Trump administration, recommended that Americans buy Ivanka Trump's clothing brand, she was warned by the Office of Government Ethics and forced to promise never to do so again.'

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