Mischievous posters have started appearing all over London over the past two months.
On the side of the East London bus stop, one of them, Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, appears from the roof of Tesla, with his hands facing upwards with a straight salute. “It will be from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds,” the ad reads. “Tesla. Swastical.”
Another mock ad shows Musk and President Trump in front of a red Tesla with the words “Now on white power steering.” In North London, fake movie billboards ring “The Fast and the Führer.” Musk’s photo salutes beside Tesla, a reference to the federal agency that currently takes the lead on Trump’s behalf.
“Parent Guidance” warns signs held back by a group calling everyone who hates Elon themselves. “Tesla’s CEO is a far-right activist. Don’t give him your money.”
In the UK capital and several European cities, Musk’s signature venture has been the target of the same kind of political outrage that has promoted vandalism in US Tesla vehicles and sometimes fostered violent protests at his dealers.
There were a few Instance of unruly protest and destruction in Europe. But many of the rebellious sentiments take the form of political satire, at least the kind that flourished in England. 18th century.
Just outside Berlin, a group called the Centre of Political Beauty used high power lights to project the word “Hil” onto the side of the Tesla factory, and read it as “Hil Tesla” along with a photo of Musk saluteting during his speech in Washington. In Italy, street art depicts Elon Musk taking off his mask and showing Adolf Hitler’s face down. The word “Elon Mask” appears above the photo.
“There was never a target like this,” said John Gorenfeld, a software engineer who helped launch the London-based group called “Takedown Tesla.” The group has organized dozens of protests over the past few weeks. They have posters along the highway, “If you don’t like Elon, it makes a cry.” And they print bumper stickers for Tesla owners and have phrases like “Don’t make the same mistake” and “Pre-2020 model.”
“No one who’s that rich and powerful is acting outrageously,” Gorenfeld said. “There’s something ridiculous about the toxicity of the mask brand, and it opens up a real space that will ridicule.”
In Europe, Musk is not a distant example of American wealth and power. Last year he became a frequent political intervention, heavy on X, a social media platform with often 228 million followers.
In the UK, Musk is known for sharing false information about the child rape scandal and asking Kiel Prime Minister Starmer to be jailed. He called for the release of Tommy Robinson, a far-right anti-immigrant agitator in prison for the court’s light emptying. He then criticized the seven-year sentence of neo-Nazis who incited anti-immigrant riots last summer.
The small rebel groups that emerged around Europe have the same basic goals. Tank Tesla stock prices and sales are a way to send messages to other masks and other wealthy people who are thinking of promoting far-right politics around the world. Some groups declined to be interviewed about their actions, citing concerns about becoming a target for Musk’s rage on social media. But others were more open about their purpose.
“The point of this is to show Musk and other billionaires that they are vulnerable and unable to act with immunity,” said Ben Stewart, founder of a group of British satirists called Donkey’s Red, working with the Centre for Political Beauty to project Musk’s image at a factory in Berlin. “We must utilize global public opinion to push back.”
The organizers think it’s working. Tesla’s stock price is nearly halfway from its December high, with Musk beginning his famous role in overseeing the firing of government workers and significantly cutting federal agencies’ budgets. This week, Tesla reported a 13% decline in sales compared to a year ago.
“What they’re trying to do is put a lot of pressure on me. Tesla says, you know, I don’t know, don’t stop doing this,” Musk says. I said it last week in Wisconsin He was campaigning for a candidate for the state Supreme Court.
Still, he shrugged and added. “In the long run, I think Tesla Stock will do well.
Protesters who spoke about their purpose said they wanted to challenge Musk’s influence without resorting to vandalism. The billionaires called out In the United States, it is “cooperative violence against peaceful companies.”
London resident Theodora Sutcliffe, who helped organize the Tesla Takedown, said no one she works with has participated in the violence. Instead, they tried to find other ways to attract the attention of the nation.
In one of their protests, a man with a wavy 20-foot balloon that vaguely resembles Mr Musk salutes into the air. Otherwise, Sutcliffe and her fellow protesters have left flyers on the windshield of Tesla vehicles.
“Teslas was cool once in a while,” says one flyer. “Now, sadly, it’s not. Driving a Tesla and using a Tesla charger means supporting Elon Musk, the man who promotes climate deniers and fossil fuel junkies.”
“If you want to go viral in the UK, I think you have to be smart,” Sutcliffe said. “That’s our sense of humor.”
The rebel efforts in Berlin were led by Philippe Reuk, artistic director of the German activist group Political Beauty Centre. In an interview, he said much of the anger towards German Musk stems from German alternatives, the billionaire support for the far-right party.
“The first day the administration comes, he will salute Hitler,” Rook said. “This was unacceptable politically and artistically.”
Mr. Look performs many of his protests by “overwriting” one image with another. At Tesla dealers, he used lights to superimpose Musk’s words and images to create new artistic creations. (He said police are now investigating his efforts, which are visible for about an hour.) Photos of the building were widely spread on social media.
Other efforts have also become a virus.
There is a mock car air freshener called the “Mask-B-gone” that promises to cover the “bad smell of fascism.” Musk and Trump’s cardboard cutouts are grateful for their support when Tesla owners restock their cars with the company’s Supercharger Lot.
“There are a few people who are coming to Musk as if he was some kind of passive agent of Trump. That’s really, this is another way to get to Trump,” Sutcliffe said. “There are others who perceive Musk as a unique threat we have never seen before in terms of economic control and control of the information field.”
