(The Centers Square) – Hundreds of protesters with signs such as “Stop the coup!” demonstrated Saturday against Elon Musk outside SpaceX’s headquarters in Los Angeles County.
It was part of a growing number of protests across the U.S. against Musk, a billionaire who’s the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. Musk has worked quickly to cut thousands of jobs through his efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency. President Donald Trump appointed Musk to head DOGE, but the White House recently said Amy Gleason is the acting administrator in charge of the agency. In any case, Musk remains the face behind DOGE cuts.
“Hands off our country!” was among the messages on the signs of the protesters, who gathered along both sides of Crenshaw Boulevard in the city of Hawthorne. They represented three organizations: 50501, Indivisible and Westside Democratic Headquarters.
The protest’s name was a play on words with DOGE’s initials: “Destruction of Our Government By Elon.” Protests rallied against Trump’s and Musk’s policies and in support of causes such as transgender rights.
Critics contend Musk, whose businesses such as SpaceX have contracts with the federal government, has conflicts of interest.
Nancy Polikoff, a 73-year-old Marina Del Rey resident, told the Daily Breeze she came to SpaceX Saturday to protest “Elon Musk’s takeover of the government.
“It’s already affected people I know that have lost their jobs,” she said. “I also think his entire purpose is self dealing, so he’s going to make sure the agencies that regulate his businesses shut down, and he’s going to tamper with government contracts to make sure they all come out in his favor.”
Similar protests took place at Tesla dealerships and showrooms across the U.S. More than 50 demonstrations were listed at the website Tesla Takedown, which is urging people to sell their Teslas, join protests against Musk and dump their Tesla stocks. A protest was planned Monday at a Tesla dealership in San Francisco.
Tesla’s shares dived almost 28% in February as its electric vehicle sales dropped, but bounced back 2% Monday as the company diversifies and invests in artificial intelligence and robotics, according to media reports.
Federal workers throughout the country have reacted with anger and confusion by the Musk-led efforts to lay off probationary federal employees. Layoffs have included about 1,300 such employees who were laid off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In addition, 1,000 employees, who served less than two years, were fired at the Department of Veteran Affairs, which said “mission-critical positions” were exempt from the cuts. The VA said the workforce reduction resulted in savings of more than $98 million a year, which the department said will be used for benefits, health care and services for veterans.
Trump has defended Musk’s demand that federal employees list their recent accomplishments to keep their jobs.
The Trump administration said the U.S. needs to cut federal spending in light of what the president calls the nation’s $36 trillion in debt
The DOGE website reported the agency has saved the federal government $105 billion and has broken that down to $652.17 per taxpayer. DOGE said the savings resulted from factors such as workforce reductions, cancellations of grants and asset sales.
Critics, though, have accused DOGE and Musk of being too powerful.
Democratic attorney generals for 14 states have sued Musk and Trump to stop DOGE. The lawsuit accuses the Republican president of creating DOGE, a federal department, without congressional approval and granting Musk powers over the federal government as an unelected presidential nominee chosen without Senate confirmation.
DOGE is facing a host of other lawsuits.
