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Patricia A. Nugent: Scenes from a Tesla Takedown
When I first heard about it, I knew I’d go. I’ve been showing up for more than fifty years, starting with the Vietnam war. My parents modeled social justice activism for me. My maternal grandfather was a card-carrying Communist who faced down FBI harassment during the Red Scare.
It’s in my DNA. So why am I so worried about today?
Perhaps because some progressive friends have declined. Perhaps because my former husband texted, “Be careful. Cops are guarding Tesla dealerships.” Most definitely because of the overall cruelty of this president.
In the shower, I find myself wondering if it might be my last shower for a while. (Do they let you shower in jail?)
In the closet, I consider my apparel. Nothing that could be pulled, like earrings or a hood. No ponytail. An old coat so I won’t care if it gets torn.
Jeezus, Patty, stop! I scold myself. You’ve never before worried about getting arrested or hurt at a protest. Then realize that’s because of my white privilege. People of color have ALWAYS worried about endangering themselves when they step out to challenge the patriarchy. Yes, authoritarianism is much worse of late. But it’s always been here. Since the inception of this nation.
* * *
I drive two other women to the Tesla dealership, arriving at the appointed hour. There are two men wearing black outside the showroom on their phones. Their vehicle inventory has been removed; No Trespassing signs are posted. No police are visible.
We park in a nearby vacant lot to figure out why no one else is there. There’s a Tesla blocking the entrance to a Salvation Army Thrift Store next to the dealership. A clerk asks him to move so people can enter the store lot. The irony and symbolism aren’t lost on us.
People start to appear – with signs and flags. A LOT of people. Like soldier ants. Organizers instruct us to stay on the public sidewalk and not engage in arguments. We line a very busy road on both sides, and the volume of cheerleading horns is reassuring. Many homemade signs call out the white supremacist influence, substituting swastikas for S’s, spelling Musk with three K’s.
My favorite sign reads “I worry for your children.”
There is no hint of any intended vandalism. We remain respectful as greatly-outnumbered counter protesters plant themselves in our midst. One of their signs reads, “These people are idiots. I’m with MAGA.” Their device blasts a song with the repeated lyric, “Fuck your Feelings.” They walk right up to us to spew irrelevant arguments: “Where would you send Musk? Do you want to kill him? This isn’t a democracy, anyway; it’s a republic.” When the press arrives, five MAGAs surround the reporters and cameras to draw attention away from the 200 people witnessing against this regime. One man wears a menacing black ski cap as he takes photos of us from a distance.
A truck smokes our lungs with black exhaust. A few pickups veer onto the shoulder to push us back. We’re offered free rides in a Tesla: “The best – but the last – ride of your life.”
A self-appointed MAGA ambassador walks the road’s shoulder thanking us for being here and for remaining peaceful, making me suspect they are conducting gaslighting training programs.
“I feel sorry for them,” the woman next to me says. “They’ve been brainwashed.” She shouts, “I love you” to drivers who flip us off. She’s a retired middle school teacher, accustomed to irrational behavior. I’m not as kind, telling her I consider them willfully ignorant.
But I do have compassion for two women. A young one dressed in black wears a black knit cap that reads “Dark MAGA.” (Who knew MAGA could get any darker?) She looks high, as she trades her future for her skin-head companion smoking off to the side. Another woman, waving an American flag as big as she, pleads over and over, “Please save our democracy. Save our country! Stop racism and misogyny. Please. Please!”
She sounds desperate. She is desperate. She’s a woman of color.
How could I have stayed home?
* * *
We go for a bite to eat to debrief about the experience. Our waiter overhears our conversation and volunteers that he’s studying to be a special ed teacher and is worried about his future and the future of public education. He thanks us for trying to stop the devastation.
Alice Paul, who took women’s suffrage over the finish line in 1920, was repeatedly arrested, force fed, put in solitary confinement for protesting outside the White House. Yet, each time she was released, even after months of confinement, she rejoined the picket line.
Many years ago, I taped this question to my keyboard: What moral imperative is worth putting myself at risk for?
I have my answer. Do you?
Copyright 2025 Patricia A. Nugent
Patricia A. Nugent is the author of the memoirs They Live On: Saying Goodbye to Mom and Dad, and Healing with Dolly Lama: Finding God in Dog, as well as editor of Before They Were Our Mothers: Voices of Women Born Before Rosie Started Riveting.
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This is a beautiful, thoughtful piece. I guess it must be in our DNA, it does seem like many of us has been doing this forever. That said, I think the Tesla Takedown is the most effective thing people like us have done in a very long time, maybe ever, because it has a really coherent theory of power behind – break Musk financially and the whip hand that holds Republicans in line goes away. Change is hard but this is how it happens, one step at a time, as long, of course, as you cite, we have the courage to put ourselves at risk. Thank you.
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Thank you! I couldn’t agree more. Political actions need to have a clear objective that is feasible.
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Sales are down 13%. A tangible outcome!
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This is the language Musk understands.
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“Many years ago, I taped this question to my keyboard: What moral imperative is worth putting myself at risk for? I have my answer. Do you? ”
Hopefully, this is a question many are asking themselves. Resistance is never futile but is often fertile and must be done. Are there risks? Of course there are as there were for those young Black students brave enough to sit at segregated lunch counters and endure taunts, eventual physical beatings, fire hoses turned full blast and even deaths for some. But the failure to resist is just as costly as many descendants of those murdered by fascist regimes can testify. Is this government coming for you? Perhaps not now, but it will, rest guaranteed on that one. Your only escape (and often only temporary) is to become what we call a “Good German”, one who always looked away as friends and neighbors were carted away. Or perhaps one who insisted we should just ignore Joe McCarthy in the 50s as hard-working people lost their jobs, went to prison, or were driven from their homes by McCarthyism and it’s virulent anti-communism. Yes, that’s a choice, but its a willful choice that will not be ignored by future generations. It is inevitable that your children, or your grandchildren will someday ask, “What did you do to try and stop fascism when it came to the US?” Think now about the answer you’ll give as it will help determine not only your future but the future of those kids.
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“Is this government coming for you? Perhaps not now, but it will…” Exactly. We are not opposed to the current regime just because we have a conscience. We are fighting for our freedom and the freedom of our children.
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Thank you for the protesting, the reporting, and the courage to do both in the face of what until now seemed unthinkable.
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Love this. Powerful. Thanks, “Patty,” for writing this and thanks to Michael for publishing it.
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Thanks, Desne. I appreciate your being here for all of us.
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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the support.
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Oh yes, Patricia, I have my answer. All of us in the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and on the highways are demanding democracy and an end to war, we have to block highways, block access to ministers’ home streets, stop paying local and national taxes, make sure we have money at home, bring our countries to a standstill – without violence – no matter what the police do to us. And they will hurt us. At this point there truly is no choice. Either we fight non-violently or we lose our countries to very dangerous men. So frightening. But what else can we do! Your battle is just beginning, we have been demonstrating for five years or so. It’s a long haul. But if we stand up to these people, we will be able to respect ourselves, live with ourselves.
My aunt and uncle in South Africa were communists, their homes were frequently raided, they were arrested, jailed without recourse to lawyers or a court case, and finally thrown out of South Africa. There is a price to pay for protecting our values, we may well have to pay it, but as you said – What moral imperative is worth putting myself at risk for?
Equal rights! Mutual respect! Democracy! The freedom to be who and what we are and openly express this! Freedom for Palestinians and the State of Palestine! Freedom for Israelis and the right of the State of Israel to exist. Freedom from leaders who want to expel people from our two countries rather than learn to live together – and so on and so forth –
We have to hold Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela in our hearts and line the streets on the shoulders of the great.
Thank you for your article.
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Your response deeply touched me. Thank you for doing what you’re doing. Wish you didn’t have to…..
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This author’s question at the end of this superb article is one we should all ask ourselves and answer. Thank you, Patricia, for being there.
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