After weeks of "Tesla Takedown" protests, extremist groups are showing up to back Elon Musk's beleaguered car company.
Guess who showed up to defend Tesla? The Proud Boys, armed militias, and at one event in Idaho, and a guy dressed as Hitler. More on the "Tesla Takedown" protests here:
-- WIRED (@wired.com) March 31, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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Background info on the Tesla protests:
Protests hit Tesla dealerships across the world in challenge to Elon Muskwww.theguardian.com
From Australia to Europe and the US, demonstrators rallied against carmaker's dismantling of US federal government
On Saturday, with more than 200 events planned worldwide, protests kicked off midday in front of Tesla showrooms in Australia and New Zealand and then rippled across Europe in countries including Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Each rally was locally organized with original themes. In Ireland, it was "Smash the Fash", and Switzerland had "Down with Doge". Photos posted to Bluesky by Tesla Takedown showed demonstrators in San Jose, California, close to where Tesla was previously headquartered, and Austin, Texas, where its headquarters are now.
Tangentially related ...
A historic Black church took the Proud Boys to court. Now it controls their trademark
apnews.com
... There is so much history between the walls of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has hosted funerals for Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass and opened its pews to American presidents and civil rights icons.
It made history again this year: Thanks to a lawsuit, Metropolitan AME now controls the trademark to the Proud Boys, the far-right group that once vandalized the church's property in Washington. ...
It was political intimidation, according to Lamar. A judge awarded the church $2.8 million in damages in 2023, condemning the Proud Boys' "hateful and overtly racist conduct."
In February, after the Proud Boys didn't pay, the court gave the church use of the group's name and symbols -- seen on its black-and-yellow gear and laurel wreath logo. ...
The church can seize money the Proud Boys make through merchandise sales.
And the congregation has begun to sell lookalike shirts on its website with lines like "Stay Proud, Stay Black." It plans to offer similar apparel for Pride Month and Juneteenth, with proceeds going to a community justice fund.
Lamar said it's "our way of leveraging something that was intended for evil." ...
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