Protest against Elon Musk held outside of Tesla dealership in Kitchener

From Montreal to Toronto, Tesla protests have been cropping up across the country — with one of the most recent ones taking place outside the Tesla dealership in Kitchener.

Some drivers honked their horns in support while driving by the protest on Saturday. Others booed and cussed at the protesters as they drove by.

For those like Kitchener's Cate Davis, boycotting Tesla is a show of Canadian pride.

"I'm here cause I'm pissed," she said. "It's time to stand up and show the country what we are and what we're about... because this is absolute insanity and I'm not going to stand for it and neither should anyone else."

Clay Eccles, who drove from Cambridge to take part in the protest, is hoping to send a clear message to Elon Musk.

"He's not a good person... I'd like to see him go out of business," Eccles said. "Canadians have been provoked and we're not going to put up with this."

The protest in Kitchener is just one of many that have been happening across Canada and the United States.

Most of the protests in Canada have been peaceful, except for a handful where demonstrators have vandalised Tesla property.

Protesters say Musk, the company's CEO, has been closely associated with U.S. President Donald Trump. Sentiment against the American president has turned sour in much of Canada since Trump started imposing tariffs on Canadians goods. Trump has said his desired outcome of the trade war is for Canada to become the 51st state.

Since then, thousands of Canadians signed a petition to have Musk's citizenship revoked for his attempts to "attack Canadian sovereignty."

Trump, Musk react to protests

Trump has equated the acts of vandalism at Tesla dealerships in the United States to domestic terrorism.

Dan Horner, an associate professor in the department of criminology at Toronto Metropolitan University, is an expert in analyzing protests and political violence. He says Trump's strong language against the demonstrators is on par with the messaging his administration has put out over the last couple of months.

"This ramping up of hostile language toward their enemies and sort of zeroing in on people who they see as opposition to them with very strong language and promises of very severe legal repercussions... What we're seeing being unleashed on the global scale is definitely a deeply polarized brand of politics," he said.

During an all-hands meeting on Thursday night, Elon Musk told Tesla employees they should keep their stock, which has sharply dropped in value this year.

He also addressed the recent instances of vandalism at Tesla dealerships.

"If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon. I can't walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire," Musk said during the meeting, as employees laughed with him.

"Listen, I understand if you don't want to buy our product, but you don't have to burn it down. That's about unreasonable. Like, this is psycho. Stop being psycho."

Some Tesla owners trying to distance themselves from Musk

Some Tesla owners who were once proud to own the electric vehicle are reportedly now embarrassed to be associated with the brand, as public furor against the company and its CEO gain momentum.

Tesla owners who aren't fans of the company's owner are either scooping up anti-Musk bumper stickers or boycotting the brand by getting rid of their vehicles altogether.

"Five years ago, I considered Elon Musk an idol and admired his business ventures with Tesla and SpaceX in particular," said Paul Turnbull, of Ottawa.

"I was a proud purchaser of a Tesla Model Y soon after they became available for order in Canada in 2021. I still own and enjoy the car today, but it is no longer a source of pride as it once was given the current negative stigma against Elon."

Musk has lost several billion dollars of his personal wealth this year as shares in Tesla and sales of its electric vehicles plunge.

Trump has said that Musk and Tesla are being treated unfairly, and Musk told Fox News on Tuesday that "Tesla is a peaceful company. We've never done anything harmful. I've never done anything harmful. I've only done productive things."

Given U.S.-Canada relations, have you sold or tried to sell your Tesla? We want to hear from you. Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.