Elon Musk isn't the most popular person in America right now. The controversial billionaire waded into the political minefield as the face of DOGE. Since Trump took office, Musk has made several controversial moves and cuts that have angered many.
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He's taken away money from child cancer research in the US while pouring $400 million of US taxpayers' money into his armored Teslas. The lack of transparency in DOGE's day-to-day activity has landed judicial action with a judge demanding the organization release records of activity.
But some of Musk's critics have begun to take things into their own hands.
First came the boycotts outside his storefronts, then came vandalism, and now people are setting fire to Cybertrucks and Tesla vehicles in various instances. In their eyes, setting fire to Cybertrucks sends a very large, smoking message.
Cybertrucks, Cars, and Showrooms Set On Fire
Elon Musk desperately wants to be loved. He wants so badly to be considered cool that he even paid people to level boost his character on a video game so other gamers would think he was one of them. He even bought X, or should I say Twitter, to give himself his own personal soapbox.
But Elon Musk hasn't managed to make many friends with his recent DOGE cuts, and it's affected his businesses. Tesla took a dive in the stock market, dropping 15 percent. It's their worst day since the pandemic days of 2020. Political opponents have stoked the flames. Sen. Elissa Slotkin pointed out on her social media, "Musk said the quiet part out loud: he's going after your Social Security and Medicare. Period."
Of course, Musk himself and DOGE have played a large role in the backlash. People have noticed what he is doing. While supporters may be cheering him on, critics are kicking back against the billionaire.
Burning things has always been a way to get attention, and this isn't the first time. In 2023, French citizens protested a bill that would have raised the retirement age. Millions protested, and in some cases, those protests turned violent. Burning cars seems to have become a motif in the country. The message there seems to be — if you try to increase their retirement age by two years, they will burn cars in front of the city hall.
Protests are also common in America, and in some cases, they do become violent as well. It seems that some of Musk's critics are striking back themselves rather than leaving it up to the courts. The backlash and targeted vandalism have garnered the attention of President Donald Trump. He said that is labeling such acts of aggression as domestic terrorism.
He warned, "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."
