Indivisible Protests: Local Tesla Dealership Becomes Center for Protests

New car buyers looking to test drive a Tesla in the upcoming months might find themselves surprised: every other Saturday outside the Cherry Hill Tesla dealership for the past month there has been an ever-growing crowd carrying signs, shouting slogans, and making their presence unavoidable. On March 8th, as many as 400 people were in attendance and protesting.

This unrest lies at the feet of Elon Musk, the mogul behind Tesla as well as other companies like Starlink and SpaceX. His high-profile purchase and rebranding of social media hub Twitter and subsequent endorsement of far-right talking points made him a point of contention, but it is his actions as the head of the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE and his alliance with the new president that have turned him into an icon for the right and a figure of derision for the left. Among these include his presence at President Trump’s inauguration ceremony where he performed a Nazi salute to an audience, massive cutbacks to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), similar cutbacks at regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission that polices the investment practices of large corporate bodies, and mass firings at various federal offices.

Tesla is one of the companies Musk is most known for and has thus has come under fire from many protest groups. One such group, based out of the Camden area, is Cooper River Indivisible.

Cooper River Indivisible is the regional affiliate chapter of the national organization Indivisible, representing the 1st and 2nd congressional districts of New Jersey which include Camden and the surrounding areas. Indivisible coordinates with elected officials and stages protests against what they see as a series of unconstitutional power plays by Musk, the president, and others in the high levels of government.

 “Indivisible is a national organization founded in 2017 by two former Congressional staffers, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. They wrote a very basic Google Doc about best practices to resist the Trump administration. That quickly went viral and spawned an entire grassroots organizing movement. Eventually there were chapters in every single congressional district in America,” said Adam Sheridan, who fills the Chapter Lead Organizer position in the Cooper River branch. He joined in 2017 after finding the group online and being encouraged to attend a meeting. 

“I was a 7th grade English teacher at the time, and one of my students had recently confided to me he was worried about his parents getting deported. I remember specifically that he told me, “I don’t think we have enough money to move back to Nigeria.” His parents were naturalized citizens but he understood the climate at the time and was worried. I vowed from that moment I was going to get off the sidelines and get involved,’” Sheridan continued.

The Tesla Takedown, as CRI have come to call their biweekly protests, are just one front on the larger fight being undertaken across the country and have already turned up results: Tesla’s stock price spent a large part of March in freefall, a key investor has called for Musk to step down as CEO, and public opinion towards Musk and his companies have also taken a nosedive according to polls put out by CNN and NBC.

In response to the boycotts and to reports of violence at Tesla locations, President Trump made a statement that the boycotts were “illegal” and that any further violence towards Tesla dealerships was to be considered domestic terrorism: “They’re harming a great American company. Let me tell you, you do it to Tesla, and you do it to any company, we’re going to catch you, and you’re going to go through hell.”

Sheridan, for his part, says that he and the rest of Cooper River Indivisible leadership are undeterred by the attention being paid to their protests by the federal government:

“All that Trump’s whining tells me is that the protests and the boycotts are getting to him and Elon. Tesla’s stock price is dropping, their sales are down all over the world, and their brand is increasingly becoming toxic. It turns out that illegal power grabs from unelected billionaires are very unpopular and hurt your business. So my advice to other people considering these protests is: keep going, it’s working.” 

The feeling that their efforts were working was not lost on the protestors, as the sounds of supportive honking and cheers could be heard all along Route 70 while the line of protesters stretched blocks past the Cherry Hill Tesla dealership. “The energy at these protests is infectious. I think people are scared and worried about the future, and when they come to this protest, they begin to believe again that this fight is winnable and worth it.” Adam Sheridan said.

However, he also pointed out that not all passersby were so supportive: 

“A car with Trump stickers on it slowed down and threw a cup of ice water out the window, which struck [a fellow CRI leader]’s daughter and another woman in the face. We have also had several incidents of drivers making Nazi salutes at us as they drive by. Both of my grandfathers were World War 2 veterans. It is incredible to me that the evil movement they fought against has now gained a foothold in America.”

 Police have maintained a presence at each of the Tesla Takedowns thus far, ensuring that they remain in the realm of peaceful protest. Neither Tesla employees or Cherry Hill Township have offered any statements on the protests. The peaceful aspect of the Tesla Takedowns is increasingly important as news stories about dramatic firebombings of Tesla dealerships begin to make their way onto front pages. Sheridan opined: 

“I have noticed TV journalists and the elite press are suddenly fixated on sporadic acts of vandalism at Tesla dealerships. This strikes me as the product of a coordinated public relations campaign by Tesla to distract the public from the real issue: anyone who buys a Tesla, willingly or not, is supporting a company led by a CEO who likes to give Nazi salutes. Our protests have been entirely peaceful and we take pains to make sure there is no vandalism.”

While the group has an established presence in the here and now, Sheridan also talked about the importance of plans for the future: “We have tons of ideas. There’s lots of companies out there who are bending the knee to Trump right now, but we think it’s extremely important to focus our efforts on one specific goal, and Tesla is the focus currently. In the future, though, any company that supports Trump and his white nationalist agenda might find themselves as our next target.”

“We think the future of America must be multiracial and multigenerational. As a chapter, we stand for a diverse and welcoming America that gives everyone the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. CRI has always championed causes like universal health care, universal basic income programs, progressive taxation to make the wealthy pay their fair share, and investments in America to build a clean energy future. We have always been partners to labor unions and workers rights and we stand for humane immigration policies that honor our history as a nation of immigrants.”

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